


Because A Vision Softly Creeping

by mandeebobandee



Series: Hogwarts Havoc [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-07-24 21:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 42
Words: 46,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16183517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandeebobandee/pseuds/mandeebobandee
Summary: Virgil and his friends thought the BEGINNING of their school year at Hogwarts was rough? Just wait until they see what the second half has in store for them...





	1. Chapter 1

_"Virgil? Virgil! Wake up! Aren't you supposed to be tutoring Astrit soon?"_  

Virgil blinked, bleary eyes gazing at his immediate surroundings as he took in Elliott's features. They'd been seated at a table in the Slytherin Common Room working on homework. Virgil had apparently fallen asleep. He glanced down at his watch, shocked to discover that over an hour passed since the last time he'd looked at his watch. Elliot was right - He  _did_  need to meet up with Astrit soon.

"Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" He groaned, quickly throwing a couple of books into his school bag. 

_"Have you looked in a mirror lately?"_  Elliott arched a brow before shaking their head and jotting something down on the paper in front of them.

...he did have rather noticeable bags under his eyes as of late, but he would have thought that the eyeliner he wore beneath his eyes covered that well enough?

Then again Elliott, too, wore eyeliner. They knew what to look out for better than any of Virgil's other friends in terms of what eyeliner did and did not hide.

_"Good luck with the tutoring sesh, Virge,"_  Shane told him with a smile and a wave. Virgil gave a half-smile to both of his Slytherin friends then headed out into the hallway. He was part of his way to the library when he crossed paths with Logan.

_"Your hair is a bit messy. Did you just roll out of bed?"_  Logan remarked. 

Virgil rolled his eyes. "No, I was studying."

Logan arched an eyebrow.  _"That hair bears the unmistakable signs of having been slept on."_

"What are you, my mother?" Virgil shot back, but he already had a hint of a smile. "...fell asleep in the middle of studying. Elliott and Shane got me up about ten minutes ago."

Logan immediately frowned.  _"You were reading under the covers again, weren't you?"_

Virgil thought about trying to play it off. However, between Logan's talent at observation and how well he knew Virgil? Logan would see right through any attempts that Virgil made. It was better to just be straightforward with his boyfriend. "I was. Still haven't found any snakes that match the description Augustine and Seth provided to the Healers at St. Mungos," Virgil sighed.

_"Nor have I,"_  Logan confessed.  _"However, you should not be conducting research at such a late hour."_

"It's the only time I can dedicate to it without people asking a bunch of questions! Besides, weren't you the one who pulled an all nighter a couple of weeks ago for Arithmancy?"

_"That...that is entirely different! That was for class! I wanted to make certain that my project was worthy of an O!"_

Virgil snorted, ducking his head as he grinned in amusement. "Let's face facts, Lo - Both of our sleeping schedules could use a few tweaks."

_"...I can agree with that assessment,"_  Logan admitted, albeit reluctantly.

Toby was still in St. Mungo's, nearing the end of his third week in the Creature-Induced Injuries ward. Virgil and Logan weren't the only ones attempting to find answers any way that they could. Patton wrote letters to his parents every day, hoping against hope for an update on his brother's condition, a sign that Toby was going to get  _better_ , despite evidence to the contrary.

Once Virgil and Logan made it to the library, they went their separate ways. Logan was tutoring his student in Astronomy while Virgil was tutoring Astrit in Defense Against the Dark Arts, so it wasn't as if they could tutor their students together without it getting incredibly confusing.

_"Any news about Toby?"_  Astrit asked when Virgil arrived to their table in the corner of the library and began to set his things down.

 Virgil shook his head. 

_"I'm sorry. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help,"_  Astrit told him, though at the same time both Virgil and Astrit recognized that there was little that  _Virgil_  could do, let alone Astrit. Patton was in the best position to 'do something', so to speak, and even Patton was at a loss. Toby's condition hadn't changed, which meant that it hadn't  _worsened_  - it just hadn't gotten any better. But as long as it wasn't getting any  _worse_ , they still had a chance of fixing this. 

 Their tutoring session went well enough. If anything, the knowledge that what happened to Toby might be related to the Dark Arts - as evidenced by Elliott's theory - served as an impetus. And much like Virgil, Astrit's performance improved when he seized upon a particular motivator. and utilized it to his advantage. Despite his earlier struggles, Astrit was able to cast shield charms able to withstand a few of the powerful spells that Virgil learned in his NEWT classes. Granted, it was only one small piece of Defense Against the Dark Arts, but progress was progress.

Virgil bypassed the Slytherin Common Room after dinner, planning on doing a bit of reading before possibly taking an early night. It was a lot easier to do so when others weren't around, and he especially did not want any housemates other than Elliott and Shane to start asking questions. Fortunately, Elliott and Shane's unofficial welcome into their 'group', so to speak, meant that Elliott and Shane could watch Virgil's back. Elliott in particular was a good judge of when Virgil wanted to be alone (possibly because Elliott had moments like that themself), and knew what to look out for.

Virgil set his bag at the foot of his bed and laid back for a moment. He frowned when he heard something crumple underneath him.

He hadn't left any papers sitting on his bed, had he? He thought he'd grabbed all of his assignments for class.

Virgil sat up, finding a crumpled up wad of paper on his bed. Glancing around, Virgil carefully unfolded it, not wanting to damage it. Upon reading its contents, Virgil nearly dropped it in his surprise. The scrawl was unfamiliar, odd once one considered what the slip of paper said.

_Hello Darkness,_

_I know how to help Toby. You must meet me at the edge of the Forbidden Forest tomorrow._

_Come alone. Lest you suffer the consequences of doing otherwise._

_Sincerely,_  
_An old friend_

...a friend whose last statement before signing off their letter was a threat? Riiiight. With friends like that, who needed enemies?

No, the writer was no friend of his, of that Virgil was certain. But if the chance to save Toby lay in the balance? The chance to make his best friend happy again? Virgil would do what it took. He folded the paper back up and placed it in his pocket. He knew what he would be doing after dinner tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...yes, both the title and the beginning and end of the letter Virgil received at the end of this chapter are references to The Sound Of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel.


	2. Chapter 2

All through Care of Magical Creatures the next day, Virgil caught himself glancing in the direction of the Forbidden Forest.  
  
 _"Virgil, are you okay? You seem extra distracted today,"_  Patton's voice cut through his thoughts and he turned his attention back toward the Hufflepuff.  
  
"Yeah, I was just thinking," Virgil murmured.  
  
 _"About what?"_  
  
"The Forbidden Forest."  
  
 _"What about the Forbidden Forest?"_  
  
"Just the Forbidden Forest, okay?!" Virgil snapped, guilt immediately washing over him when he saw Patton flinch backward.  
  
 _"O-Okay I was just curious..."_  Patton said in a small voice. Virgil felt something twist within his chest as his guilt intensified.  
  
"I'm sorry Pat, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that," Virgil told him.   
  
Patton shrugged and waved his hand with a small smile, but Virgil still felt bad. Patton was just concerned for him, after all. He could hardly fault Patton for that, knowing what a big heart the Hufflepuff had.   
  
And he was correct in his assessment - Something  _was_  weighing on Virgil's mind. The letter specified that he could not tell anyone of its contents, however - and Virgil did not want 'an old friend' to make good on his or her threats.

Care of Magical Creatures soon wrapped up, and the class headed back toward the warmth of the castle. Virgil cast one last glance backward at the Forbidden Forest before walking back to the castle alongside Patton and meeting up with Logan, Roman, Era, and Paige for Defense Against the Dark Arts. They were studying protection wards within that class. Virgil found himself wishing he'd learned how to cast protection wards before the incident with Toby the month before.

The remainder of the day passed by quickly, and Virgil wasn't sure whether to be pleased with this or upset. He had no idea what awaited him, but if this meeting resulted in Toby walking out of St. Mungo's right as rain, it was worth it. Call it a late birthday present for Patton, who more than deserved a pleasant surprise for a change.   
  
So as not to draw the suspicion of any of his friends, he told them he would be taking an early night. Elliott and Shane were hanging out with a couple of their other friends so they would not be back to the Slytherin Common Room until late, and none of his other friends could check on him in the Slytherin Common Room or dormitory. He had an easy alibi, now he just needed to sneak out to the entrance of the Forbidden Forest without a professor or prefect noticing what he was doing. His heart hammered in his chest as he set out.

He carefully made his way out to the Forbidden Forest, careful not to move too fast or in any way that would draw attention to what he was doing.  As a sixth year he was not  _technically_  breaking curfew being out at this time of day, but there weren't many students who wanted to brave the cold Feburary night and slip outside of the castle unless they were headed to class - and he had a feeling that anyone who crossed paths with him outside would have questions to ask, questions that Virgil would prefer to avoid answering until he had more answers himself.  
  
Virgil stood outside of the forest, glancing around for anything out of the ordinary. One hand remained in his pocket at all times, ready to draw his wand at a moment's notice.  
  
Five minutes passed. Then ten.  
  
Virgil was beginning to wonder if someone was playing a trick on him.   
  
Then he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye and spun around at once, pulling his wand from his pocket and pointing it in the direction of the offending noise.  
  
Nothing. Just a snake slithering through the snow...  
  
Wait,  _what_?  
  
 _"Snakes are cold-blooded,"_  Logan told him at one point.  _"So it's strange that Toby, Seth, and Augustine would even spot a snake on the grounds of Hogwarts in January. Snakes usually fall into a period of brumation, or dormancy, during the winter to preserve their energy. That this snake did not do so is peculiar indeed."_  
  
February wasn't any warmer than January, and yet this snake was slithering about as if it did not have a care in the world. Why was it not dormant?  
  
...wait.  
  
The more Virgil observed the serpent's motions, the clearer its pattern of motion became. It was circling Virgil, each circle closer in proximity to Virgil than the last.   
  
Virgil's hand clenched his wand tighter, his gaze never straying from the bizarre serpent. Alarm bells were going off in his head. Whose snake was this? Why was this snake here? Was this snake related to the one that bit Toby?  _Was_ this snake the one that bit Toby?  
  
The serpent paused, its head turning in his direction. Then it uncoiled itself and began to shift.  
  
Virgil could hear every crack and bend of  _bones_  as the snake grew nearly four feet in size. It's body widened. Limbs sprouted from its long body. It slowly began to take the form of a human, a young man draped in a black cloak accompanied by a yellow cape. 

The presence of another human did not mean that Virgil lowered his guard, however. In fact, his grip on his wand tightened, and his lips curled into a sneer.

Lionel Thompson stood before Virgil. Virgil wished that he could say he was surprised, but he really  _wasn't_. He long suspected that Deceit had something to do with this.

Virgil took a step backward in an attempt to regain his bearings, especially once he got a closer look at his elder brother's face. He would recognize his brother's face anywhere, and he  _did_ recognize the  _half of his face that belonged to his brother_. The other half was covered in scales. One brown eye and one  _yellow_  eye with a slitted pupil peered back at him.  
  
"Deceit, what the...what the hell  _happened_  to you?" Virgil forced out at last.  
  
The corners - both the human half and snake half - of Deceit's mouth curved upward to form a smirk.  _"Oh Virgil, is that any way to talk to one person who might be able to save Toby?"_


	3. Chapter 3

Virgil continued to brandish his wand. He stood ready to act at any moment. There was no telling what his brother would do, if he truly had something that would help Toby...or if the whole thing was a trap. There was a reason Lionel bestowed himself with the nickname Deceit, and this whole thing was potentially a ruse to get Virgil on his own

Above all, Virgil wanted  _answers_.  
  
"You're responsible for what happened to Toby." It wasn't a question but rather a declaration. There was no doubt in Virgil's mind that Deceit was responsible in some way for what happened to Toby, whether it be directly or indirectly.  
  
 _"Toby was bitten by a snake,"_  Deceit told him.  
  
"Yes, Captain Obvious, we've already established that." If that was all Deceit called him here for, Deceit could save it.   
  
 _"Thereby the snake is responsible for what happened to Toby,"_  Deceit explained.  
  
Virgil ground his teeth together. Deceit wasn't admitting to his role in the attack, but he wasn't actively denying anything. He was dancing around the subject, infuriatingly obfuscating the truth without actually lying.

A sudden horrible thought occurred to Virgil, and he took a step backward, clutching his wand tighter. "You...you didn't attack Toby, did you?"  
  
Deceit burst into raucous laughter. Virgil narrowed his eyes. Whether Deceit was the snake that attacked Toby or not, it was clear that he was not bothered in the least by what happened to the boy.  
  
Deceit's laughter, mercifully, began to subside, and he wiped at the corner of his eyes as if he were wiping away mirthful tears.  _"Oh Virgil, that is an absolutely dreadful idea. Me, attack a twelve year old boy? How could you even suggest such an awful thing?"_  He closed his eyes and shook his head, mocking the expression of a disappointed adult.  
  
If Virgil didnt know any better, he would swear that his father was standing before him.   
  
 _"I would not want to risk even an ounce of such filthy blood entering my mouth."_  
  
The ice in Virgil's veins turned to fire. He thrust his wand outward in a clear motion  
  
"Expulso!" he shouted, the force of the spell nearly knocking Deceit off of his feet.  
  
He was no longer laughing, apparently surprised at Virgil's sudden attack, but he soon regained his composure and the sickening smirk graced his features once again.  _"My my, I believe I may have hit a nerve. I always suspected that you were a blood traitor, but to see such evidence right before my very eyes...I did have faith in you, at one point. Now I see that my faith was mistaken. You are not worthy of the Thompson name."_

"What a tragedy," Virgil drawled, rolling his eyes. "Was that supposed to upset me?" He already knew that he was removed from the official Thompson family tree. He ought to change his name to Nyx like his mother's. Virgil Nyx had a better ring to it than Virgil Thompson anyway.  
  
 _"No, but I believe you forgot once more that I have the means to save Toby,"_  Deceit smiled.  
  
"Then hand it over already," Virgil snapped, growing tired of Deceit's games.  
  
 _"No."_  
  
"...why bring it up if you were just going to say..."   
  
 _"Oh, no, you misunderstand me. Toby will be safe. You just have to agree to our arrangements first,"_  Deceit continued.  
  
...there would be a catch. Of course. "What are these arrangements?" Virgil eyed his brother warily. He wasn't about to agree to  _anything_  until he had an idea of what he was agreeing to.  
  
 _"You do not tell anyone that I was present here,"_  Deceit stated.  
  
"...that's it?" Not that failing to turn in a highly wanted fugitive wasn't a big deal, but Virgil expected something a lot worse than that.  
  
 _"For now,"_  Deceit replied.  _"Oh, and your friends are to know nothing of this. Rest assured, I have my ways of knowing whether or not you have told them. And yes, that includes your new friends Elliott and Shane. And if I find out you reneged on your end of the deal...well, let's just leave it there, shall we? I'm sure you do not want to find out what will happen if you go back on your word."_  
  
Virgil wasn't stupid. He knew why Deceit mentioned Elliott and Shane. Virgil was not friends with Elliott and Shane when Deceit was still at Hogwarts, meaning that he had access to the inside of Hogwarts. Could he have entered in snake form? Virgil supposed it was a possibility, but he thought back to the prior year, when he and his friends postulated that Deceit had accomplices located within Hogwarts.  
  
Was that still the case?

He was fairly certain that he would have seen a two foot long yellow and black snake slithering through Hogwarts, but if Deceit was as slippery as a snake as he was as a human? Who knew what tricks he might employ.  
  
 _"I will take this opportunity to bid you farewell. I promise that we will not keep in touch and that this will be the last you see of me,"_  Deceit informed him, about to turn and leave.  
  
"Wait!" Virgil demanded. "You said you would tell me how to save Toby!"  
  
Deceit shot Virgil one last smirk.  _"Oops, guess I_  lied,  _didn't I?"_  He sent a powerful blast of smoke toward Virgil. With what? Virgil didn't see a wand on Deceit, implying that Deceit was using wandless magic. Taught to him by his father, no doubt. Virgil had no proof, but he long suspected that his father was working with Deceit and keeping him hidden.  
  
Virgil coughed, trying to brush the smoke out of his face. By the time it cleared, Deceit was nowhere to be found.

Virgil wasn't even sure if this meeting accomplished anything...if anything, he had more questions than ever. And he had a strong suspicion that this would not be the last that he heard of Deceit, whether it be through Deceit himself or one of his accomplices. 


	4. Chapter 4

As he expected, Virgil was back to the Slytherin Commom Room long before Elliott and Shane turned back up. In fact, he'd been working on his Defense Against the Dark Arts essay for about an hour before Shane came walking into the Slytherin boys dorm with a grin on his face.  
  
 _"Have you been studying in here the whole time? Come on, let's head down to the Slytherin Common Room and we can hang out a bit before we go to bed!"_  
  
"I'd really rather not, I have to get this essay done for tomorrow..." Virgil muttered.  
  
Shane's face fell slightly at this. "Oh. Well, we could hang out and chat here too!"  
  
Virgil chewed at his lip. "I'd really rather be  _alone_  right now, actually."  
  
Shane looked even more dejected at that, but to his credit he did not press Virgil and further and headed back down to hang out with Elliott.  
  
There was a part of Virgil who did want to go out and talk to Elliott and Shane, to tell them  _everything_  he just learned, along with Logan, Patton, Era, Roman, Paige, and Astrit.  
  
Deceit was an  _Animagus_. Either Deceit or an associate was able to enter Virgil's dorm and leave him a note. Deceit had something to do with Toby's attack.  
  
Virgil leaned back in his bed and stared up at the ceiling, letting out a sigh. How strange, there was a point in time where he would have done everything in his power to conceal this from his friends. Now? He would give anything to be able to  _tell them_ , but he couldn't.  
  
...why couldn't he, though? Deceit claimed that he would not save Toby were Virgil Tom divulge any secrets of their meeting with his friends, but then claimed to be lying about the whole thing as he left Virgil in the woods.  
  
Virgil cleared his throat, still feeling the effects of the smoke Deceit blasted at him as he fled.  
  
\----------------------------  
  
Two days passed with no change. By this point, Virgil wanted to inform someone of Deceit's actions out of  _spite_. The entire meeting at the entrance to the Forbidden Forest seemed like a total waste of time, a chance for Deceit to gloat and taunt Virgil as opposed to getting anything accomplished.  
  
When Virgil met up with Logan after class, he tried to pull Logan aside. "Logan, I need to talk to you about something important. The note..."  
  
 _"Virgil! Logan! There you are! We've been looking all over for you!"_  Roman shouted from three quarters of the way down the hallway.  
  
Roman was accompanied by Patton. A beaming Patton, specifically, looking happier than he had in a long time.  
  
 _"He woke up! He even said a few things to our mom and dad! It'll still take him some time to recuperate, but he's okay!"_  
  
Huh. Deceit even lied about lying   
  
 _"...how? I was under the impression that they were having difficulties determining the species of snake that bit Toby, therefore making it difficult to treat and/or cure Tony of his affliction,"_  Logan inquired, giving voice to many of Virgil's unsaid questions on the matter.

Virgil had to admit that he was more than a little confused himself. He knew that Deceit kept his word (which was strange in itself), but it wasn't as if Deceit could just waltz into St. Mungo's with the cure for Toby's ailment.  
  
 _"Oh! Apparently someone read about what happened in the Daily Prophet and brewed an anti-venom potion! Apparently the snake that bit Toby was a little-known snake not common to this area, which is why St. Mungo's didn't even think of it!"_  Patton announced, practically bouncing in his excitement.  
  
Virgil smiled in spite of himself. He was thrilled and relieved to see Patton back to normal, to hear that Toby would be okay - but it bothered him to have the knowledge that Patton and his family were fed a bunch of lies as to Toby's  _savior_ , and Virgil wanted to inform them but  _couldn't_.  
  
 _"That is fantastic news, Patton. Did your parents inform you when Toby will be coming back to Hogwarts?"_  Of course, Logan would be concerned about when Toby would be able to resume his studies. Virgil smiled in fond amusement. He was right to be concerned, of course, but it was just so... _Logan_.   
  
 _"They said it would probably be another week or so. They want to make sure that Toby is responding properly to the antivenom and that he won't get sick again, but as long as he keeps getting better he should be back here in no time!"_  Patton chirped.

 _Of course, there are still questions. Why was there a snake not commonly found around Hogwarts on Hogwarts grounds? Seems awfully suspicious, doesn't it?"_  Roman frowned, stroking his chin as he did so.  
  
 _"It certainly does. I believe that is something that we should look further into when we have the opportunity to do so,"_  Logan agreed.  
  
Virgil's stomach lurched. While he did not have all of the answers, he did know more than the others. Just how far did Deceit's decree go? Was Virgil merely forbidden from outright telling his friends of Deceit's involvement, or did it go so far as to ban Virgil from even aiding his friends in their investigation?  
  
Virgil found himself wishing that he'd never gone to that meeting.  
  
..but then, if he'd never gone to that meeting, would Toby still be laying unconscious in a hospital bed in St. Mungo's?  
  
 _"Anyway, we best be on our way,"_  Roman's voice drew Virgil back to the conversation.  _"Seth and August still don't know, and we want to be the first to tell them that Toby is coming back. Come along, Patton!"_  
  
 _"You don't have to tell me twice!"_  Patton giggled (Virgil was fairly certain he hadn't heard Patton giggle like that in  _weeks_ ) and the two were off to the Transfiguration classroom, where first year Hufflepuffs were due to exit class any moment.  
  
 _"This whole thing strikes me as peculiar,"_  Logan stated as he and Virgil watched Roman and Patton's retreating backs.  
  
"Hmmm?" Virgil asked, despite having a strong suspicion of what Logan was about to say and secretly agreeing.   
  
 _"That it was as simple as supplying the right antivenom, and that the witch or wizard who sent the antivenom knew what to supply to the hospital despite having no access to information concerning the type of snake that bit Toby. It is almost as if this person, whoever they may be, knows a lot more about Toby's attack than they are letting on,"_  Logan mused.  
  
 _Oh Logan, if only you knew how right you are..._  Virgil thought to himself. He played with the sleeves of his robes, letting out a sigh. He truly was in over his head now, wasn't he?


	5. Chapter 5

From a purely objective standpoint, Virgil understood these meetings. From his subjective standpoint? He was absolutely  _dreading_  it.  
  
It stood to reason that staff at Hogwarts wanted to meet with 6th and 7th years to make certain that everything was on track for the career they wished to enter. Of course, this endeavor was all much easier when one actually had a specific path in mind.

Virgil knew that Logan had it narrowed down to two options - Potioneer and Astronomer. Patton wished to become a Healer specializing in magical creatures.   
  
Virgil, on the other hand, was nowhere near as close. Defense Against the Dark Arts seemed like the best path, but what in the field? He already dropped out of some of the necessary classes for Aurors.   
  
Logan at one point suggestion that Virgil pursue teaching. He already had experience with Astrit, after all.  
  
Virgil looked at Logan as if he'd announced the moon was made of cheese. He understood that his boyfriend was just trying to help, but the thought of standing in front of a class and speaking as a  _student_  was intimidating enough. Professors made a living out of  _professing_  their subject in front of several classrooms day in and day out. He'd prefer an environment a little less  _crowded_.

It didn't help that he was heavily distracted by other matters. When did he have time to think about what he wanted to do in life when he had so much to worry about in the present? Toby was still on the mend, but Virgil  _knew_  that his most recent encounter with Deceit would not be his last. Deceit claimed that it would be, but Deceit lied about  _lying_. It was hard to tell what to expect from Deceit because Deceit did not just outright lie - He used various manipulations of the truth to his advantage. His act of not outright admitting to the snake attack despite all evidence pointing to his involvement, for example? A lie of omission. He'd not outright told a lie, but he'd danced around the truth to the point where he never  _did_  admit to being involved.  
  
Contemplating on all of that, however, left little time to worry about what he wanted to do after Hogwarts, which was still more than a year away.  
  
He took solace in the fact that he wasn't alone. Sure, Patton and Logan both had a fairly good idea of what they wanted to do in life, but Roman had a great  _many_  ideas (including becoming a  _Dragonologist_ ) each more grand than the next, and there was no way that he could think to accomplish them all. So, in a way, his problem was the opposite of Virgil's, who could not even settle upon one option.  
  
When Shane was asked, he just shrugged and said he hoped to get into a low-level Ministry position and try to specialize after he got his foot in the door.   
  
Era, Paige, and Elliott, on the other hand, were in similar shoes to Virgil. None of  _them_  knew what they wanted to do either, and that helped to soothe Virgil's nerves a little. When his best friend and boyfriend both had solid ideas of what they wanted to do after Hogwarts, it was easy to fall into the assumption that he was the only one who didn't have things figured out. Knowing that some of his other friends felt the same way was honestly a major relief.  
  
He was nevertheless nervous when he stepped into Professor Foley's office to speak one-on-one with him.  
  
 _"As you may know, Thompson, we are here to discuss your..."_  
  
"Virgil," the sixth year interrupted.  
  
 _"Excuse me?"_  the professor eyed him over his glasses in puzzlement.   
  
"It's Virgil. Just Virgil," Virgil responded. Deceit told him that he was not worthy of the Thompson name, and he would  _embrace_ that. He did not want to be known as a Thompson anyway.  
  
 _"Alright then..."_  Professor Foley looked more confused than ever, but continued on.  _"Virgil. Do you have any specific career path in mind? My job is to help you toward whatever you may wish to do after Hogwarts."_  
  
Virgil shrugged. "Not really."  
  
Professor Foley frowned.  _"Nothing? You have not even considered what you wish to do after Hogwarts? Your seventh year is fast approaching..."_  
  
Nothing like a reminder of the passage of time to get the old circulatory system going.  
  
Attempting to ignore the increasingly noticeable palpitations within his chest, Virgil instead tried to provide an acceptable answer to Professor Foley's inquiry. "I...have. Thought about it, I mean."  
  
 _"And?"_  Professor Foley asked.  
  
Why did all of these questions have to be open-ended? Open-ended questions meant that he had to  _talk_  more, and he didn't know what to say. He didn't even want to be here. "And...I don't know," Virgil mumbled, unable to meet the professor's eyes.  
  
Why was this so hard? He'd cursed his own brother when he dared to insult Muggleborns in front of him, it shouldn't be so difficult to talk to a  _professor_  about his  _future_.  
  
Professor Foley cleared his throat and looked over a packet of papers that sat before him.  _"You have exemplary grades in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Might I suggest pursuit of a career in that?"_  
  
Virgil nodded. "I-I...yeah. Defense. Good."  
  
Professor Foley smiled, continuing to look over the papers.  _"Now, you are not taking the right courses to pursue a career as an Auror, but you may be able to attain another job within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Does this sound like something you might be interested in?"_  
  
Did it? Virgil honestly wasn't sure. But if he agreed, would he be able to leave sooner? "Sure," Virgil told him.  
  
There was a rustle of papers and the professor cleared his throat once more.  _"Virgil, I realize this whole thing may be boring for you, but I really do think you ought to start putting more thought into what you wish to do with your life after Hogwarts. You will be out of school soon, and by then it will be too late."_  
  
"I...that's not...I mean..." Virgil stammered, trying to get his words to come out of his mouth the way that he wanted them to.  
  
 _"Just think about what I'm saying, alright? You may go."_  
  
Virgil stepped out of Professor Foley's office without another word, Professor Foley following behind him and peeking his head out to call in the next student.  
  
His head was a bit fuzzy, and it was hard to recall most of what Professor Foley told him. He did recall something about the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Perhaps that was worth looking into?   
  
He was more focused on how disappointed Professor Foley sounded, that he hadn't put much thought into what he wanted to do after Hogwarts. But he  _had_ , he just hadn't been able to settle on anything concrete, and he couldn't seem to get that into words during his meeting with the professor.  
  
Virgil was so worried that Professor Foley would be disappointed in him for not knowing what to do after Hogwarts that he unintentionally led Professor Foley to believe something else  _entirely_ , that Virgil did not  _care_.  
  
And Virgil honestly wasn't sure which one was worse at this point.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty heavy so read with caution. Warnings for transphobia and death threats.

Something was on Astrit's mind again. Virgil could tell from the moment he sat in front of the 4th year, who was gazing at a slip of paper in front of him on the table.  
  
As Virgil slid into the chair across from Astrit, the boy hastily shoved the paper into his pocket and wiped at his eyes.  
  
...had he been crying?  
  
"You okay Astrit?" Virgil frowned. If Astrit was bothered by something they could easily reschedule.  
  
Astrit nodded. "I'm fine," he said softly...almost  _too_  much so, and though Virgil was immediately suspicious he also did not want to force the point if Astrit did not want to talk about it.  
  
Midway through their tutoring session, Astrit abruptly changed gears with a question that had nothing to do with their lesson (and, Virgil suspected,  _everything_  to do with what happened earlier).  
  
 _"Have you ever felt like you'll never be accepted for who you truly are? Like...they want you to be one way and you just can't be that way because it goes against everything you are and..."_  
  
Astrit was chewing on his lips at this point. Virgil could indeed relate to such feelings, thinking back to his father and Deceit and how they told him he was a disgrace to the Thompson name and how he could hardly stand that he still had to bear a name that he hated so badly, one that he wished he could change at the next opportunity to something that felt more  _right_...  
  
But he kept quiet, because this wasn't about him. It was about Astrit. "What's wrong, Astrit?"  
  
Astrit stayed quiet, holding the paper out for Virgil to take. Virgil, equally as silent, took the paper and began to read.  
  
 _Zora,  
  
Do not owl this address again. You were already dead to us once. Don't make me do it for real this time._  
  
Virgil wordlessly slid the paper back to Astrit, all the while trying to make sense of what he just read. "I..."  
  
Astrit stared downward at the table he and Virgil shared.  _"Era said that she told you about how my mother and stepfather went to a Seer shortly after my birth and that the Seer made a prophecy about me that took years to take effect?"_  
  
Virgil nodded. He remembered that clear as day, because as a Seer himself he took extra note of any mention of prophecies around him.   
  
 _"The Seer told them my name would be Astrit."_  
  
Virgil frowned. "That's...that's it?" That wasnt even a very detailed prophecy. Why would  _that_  take years to go into effect?  
  
And who was Zora?  
  
Astrit nodded.  _"My stepfather immediately rejected the Seer as a fraud. Firstly, they were in Serbia and Astrit is a name of Albanian origin. Secondly..."_    
  
Here Astrit hesitated, almost as if struggling with something within himself.  _"Secondly, Astrit is a boy's name."_  
  
Virgil's eyes went wide as it all came together.   
  
 _"My stepfather rejected the name, said that the Seer was a fraud, and they settled on the name Zora for the new baby girl in their arms. He soon pushed that meeting with the Seer out of his mind, but my mother...she wrote the name down. She suspected that it would mean something some day. She was right."_

Virgil wasn't sure what to say to all of this. "So that letter...that letter was from your stepfather?"  
  
Astrit nodded.  _"If you can call him that. He disowned me once he discovered that he was not my father, and then cut off all contact and told my sisters that I was dead."_  
  
That explained the strange relationship between Astrit and Snježana the year before. He could imagine what a shock it would be to have been told that your sister was dead, only to find out that your  _brother_  was actually still alive and that your father kept it from you.  
  
 _"I tried writing a letter to Snježana...he must have intercepted it,"_  Astrit explained.  
  
"Why doesn't he just leave it be? You're out of his life and Snježana is what, 18?"  
  
 _"19 this month, actually. And I believe he just wants any excuse to control the narrative that he can. I'm sure he's upset that my sisters discovered that I was still alive in the first place, but I couldn't just...I missed them."_  
  
Virgil frowned, chewing on his lip. He wasnt sure the right words to say, because he didn't feel that there  _were_  any. "Thanks for trusting me with this, Astrit," he said at last, managing a small smile in the Gryffindor boy's direction. He knew how difficult it could be to open up to someone about something personal, and this was something  _very_  personal. Astrit was correct in that Era touched upon the subject when she mentioned the prophecy made when Astrit was born, but she did not go into further detail. She must have, understandably, felt that it was her brother's story to tell, not hers.  
  
"You don't think he'll come after you, do you?" The last sentence in the letter did not sit well with Virgil.  
  
Astrit shook his head.  _"I won't say that he won't, but I don't expect him to. Not as long as I heed his warning,"_  Astrit murmured quietly, dejectedly.  
  
"You mean..."  
  
 _"Cut off all contact with my sisters as long as they are under his roof? Yes,"_  Astrit sighed.  
  
Virgil found himself wanting to curse this man as much as he wanted to curse Deceit.   
  
 _"I don't...I don't think I can continue with this tutoring session. Would it be alright to schedule it to another time?"_  Astrit asked him.  
  
Virgil nodded, only wishing to continue their study session if Astrit wished to. The session was for Astrit in the first place, after all, and he could understand why Astrit would need to take some time. "That's fine. Take all the time you need. Is there anything else I can do to help?"   
  
Astrit shook his head, starting to pack up his things.  _"I don't think so. But thank you for listening. It means a lot,"_  Astrit shot him a soft smile, one that Virgil returned. Virgil, in the meantime, stayed seated at the table. He had a lot to think about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must note that I am not trans myself, so if I got anything wrong please let me know. I did confer with my beta-reader, KokoScripsit, who is bigender (and the original creator of this character), to try to get things as accurate as possible, though I realize that experiences may vary so if something stands out as terribly wrong to you please let me know, because I want to be as respectful as I can be with this.


	7. Chapter 7

Virgil knew that in keeping to himself more than usual, he was running the risk that someone would notice and start asking questions. 

  
There was  _one_  suspicion that he could discuss with the others, and with Astrit's permission he and Era informed the rest of the group of the note that Astrit received from his ex-stepfather and the threat contained within - though they refrained from showing the actual note to the others, as it was entirely up to Astrit when and if he wanted to reveal that piece of his past to the others.

_"You said that the note read something along the lines of 'You were dead to us once, don't make me do it for real this time'? This man is threatening to kill Astrit!"_  Roman gaped.  _"We can't just let that happen!"_

_"Not quite,"_  Era responded.  _"Yes, it's a death threat, but it's a death threat with conditions. He's forbidden from contacting his sisters in Serbia, and though he should not have to, he's already agreed that it would be easier for everyone involved if he just heeded the warning."_

_"It's still a death threat though!"_  Roman protested.  _"What if he's the snake that Virgil and Era had their prophecies about? The fact that he's even making threats like that and sending them to Astrit shows that he's dangerous."_

_"I doubt he's the snake, though. I don't recall him having any association with snakes,"_  Astrit frowned, looking contemplative nevertheless.

_"What house was he in at Hogwarts?"_  Roman asked.

_"I'm not sure, I never asked. What does that have to do with anything?"_  Astrit looked puzzled, clearly wondering what that had to do with anything

_"The Slytherin/snake connection. Ugh, we're never going to outlive that stupid stereotype, are we?"_  Elliot groaned.

_"Elliot's right,"_  Patton observed, surprising just about everyone.  _"We need to step away from the Slytherins are snakes thing. That line of thinking is what almost got Toby killed!"_

The room fell silent at that, as they all realized that not only did Patton have a point, but it was a point that hit incredibly close to home. Toby would have never had that snake thrown at him had his brothers not been teasing him about being a Slytherin, and thus may never have gotten bitten in the first place.

Virgil had his doubts, though. Deceit all but admitted to his involvement in the attack by  _not_  doing so, not to mention Deceit could literally  _transform into a snake_.

It might not be right to associate all Slytherins with snakes, but Deceit was one Slytherin who absolutely  _embraced_  it.

To Virgil, there was no doubt in his mind that Deceit was the snake - but he wasn't a snake because he was a Slytherin. He was a Slytherin who just so happened to be a snake through and through.

 

Yet Roman steadfast in his theory that the horrible man who sent death threats to a fifteen year old boy over things that he could not control was the snake. And indeed, that man  _was_  a snake - Virgil just didn't think that he was  _the_  snake.

"I think the snake is..." Virgil began, his voice abruptly cutting off just as he was about to bring up Deceit's name.

_"The snake could also be Dalibor Petrović,"_  Paige pointed out.

"The snake is..." There it was again, like an invisible being clamping its hand around Virgil's throat.  _Any_  attempt he made to speak, to share his thoughts on the matter, and he suddenly found that he could  _not_  speak.

And to make matters worse, the others were so enraptured in the discussion of their own theories regarding the snake that they weren't paying any heed to what Virgil was trying (and failing) to say.

 

_"We still need to figure out who the dragon witch is too,"_  Era commented.  _"We've been focusing so much on snakes lately that we haven't spared a second thought to this so-called dragon witch in a while."_

Virgil decided to give up on telling his friends about his suspicions regarding Deceit and instead join their discussion regarding the dragon witch. "We don't know where to start there either." Oh,  _now_  he could speak. His voice sounded hoarse, hoarse enough that Logan briefly shot him an odd look, but hey, at least he could  _talk_.

_"Who is she and what makes her so powerful?"_  Shane asked, looking almost awestruck.

_"Who said it was a she?"_  Era responded with an arched brow

_"The dragon witch could be Roman!"_  Patton blurted out.

_"...why Roman?"_  Logan inquired. 

_"He wants to be a dragonologist!"_  Patton beamed.

_"...huh, I never thought about it that way. What if I am? That would be epic!"_  Roman was practically bouncing in his seat out of excitement.

_"This is going to go right to his head isn't it?"_  Elliott whispered under his breath to Virgil, who ordinarily would have laughed.

All he could manage were a few chuckles.

_"You alright, Virgil?"_  Elliott asked him in concern. Logan turned at their words, sending a concerned glance his boyfriend's way.

Virgil nodded, though rose to his feet nevertheless. "Yeah I...I might be coming down with something though. My throat's acting up." Indeed, he still had relative difficulty speaking and his voice had a forced quality to it.

The others bade him farewell, and Virgil set off down the hall. He cleared his throat every once in a while in an attempt to get rid of the bizarre feeling there.

He didn't feel as if he was getting sick. His throat was bothering him, but nothing else was. He did not feel feverish, his nose did not feel stuffy, he did not even feel tired.

He was, however, a little disconcerted. It all started as he was about to say Deceit's name.

Virgil took a seat on his bed, frowning and he spotted a note on his pillow. He unfolded it and nearly fell over when he saw what was written there.

_What's the matter, snake got your tongue?_

...his initial suspicions were correct. The question was,  _how_?


	8. Chapter 8

Virgil and Logan were headed back from the library after an afternoon spent studying for Astronomy when Patton walked up with a little shadow in toe.  
  
_"Toby's back!"_  Patton told them cheerfully, gesturing to a somewhat embarrassed Toby who managed a small wave. It was good to see Toby well again, especially after how he'd looked the last time Virgil saw him - and it was further proof that Deceit actually kept his word and made certain that Toby was cured.

Not that this came without consequences, of course. 

 _"It is good to see you back and well. Do let me know if you have any difficulty catching up with any work you missed during your convalescence,"_  Logan told the first year with a small smile.  
  
Toby blinked back in confusion.   
  
"Convalescence means while you were in the hospital getting better. Sometimes Logan forgets that not everyone has a steady diet of five books a day," Virgil whispered with a mischievous grin in Logan's direction.  
  
Logan arched an eyebrow and adjusted his glasses.  _"I apologize, but I must correct Virgil as he has misrepresented me to you. My diet actually consists of six books a day, not five."_  
  
Virgil worried that he'd offended Logan at first, but relaxed considerably at the second part of Logan's statement.   
  
Toby in the meantime smiled in amusement, so the two sixth years were clearly doing  _something_ right.  _"Already did most of it,"_  he informed them.  _"Not much else to do when you're sitting in a hospital bed with people watching you to make sure you don't get up and run around."_  
  
_"Come along Toby, Seth and Augustine want to see you!"_  Patton called. Virgil noted that Toby hesitated for just a few seconds before running along after his older brother.  
  
_"He seems excited to see them,"_  Logan observed.  
  
Virgil raised an eyebrow. "Didn't look that way to me. Did you see how he froze for a moment before going after Patton?"  
  
Logan shrugged in response. _"I figured that he was just taking time to process Patton's request."_  
  
"I dunno...I mean, I can't blame him for being a little nervous after what happened last time." But then, perhaps he was reading into it more than he should. He knew that he had a habit of doing so.  
  
He and the others also knew that Seth and August felt guilty for what happened to their brother, but Toby...he hadn't seen his brothers yet. The last image that he had was of his brothers picking on him because of his house, something that he could not change at this point in his schooling.  
  
As someone who had experience with a brother who, unlike Seth and August, did  _not_  feel particularly bad for the ill-treatment he'd given Virgil over the years? He could understand why Toby would be hesitant to meet up with his brothers again if he was under the impression that his brothers were anything like Virgil's brother.  
  
Virgil also did not miss the dynamic between the two Hufflepuffs and the Slytherin, how Toby seemed like an outsider amongst the triplets even  _before_  the Sorting Ceremony.  
  
_"Its too bad that he was sorted into your house. That boy would have been a credit to Ravenclaw,"_ Logan commented, drawing Virgil back out of his thoughts.

 _"By the way, Virgil, I have been meaning to ask you something. You have been quiet recently,"_ Logan pointed out.  
  
"I...that's not really anything new..." Virgil mumbled. In class this was true - Virgil rarely spoke up in class unless he had to. With friends, on the other hand...  
  
_"You hardly said anything at our last group meeting,"_  Logan pressed on.  
  
_Not for lack of trying,_  Virgil thought bitterly.

 _"I was just wondering if anything was bothering you as of late,"_  Logan continued.   
  
There was, but most of what bothered Virgil he could not talk about - either due to agreements he made, or because he  _physically could not speak on the matter_.  
  
"I'm fine Lo," Virgil managed a small smile, hoping it would suffice.  
  
Logan did not look convinced.  _"You're never fine, Virgil."_  
  
Virgil let out a snort at that. "As fine as I  _can_  be, then." While Logan had a point, he wasn't going to get anything further out of Virgil. Not only did Deceit make threats, but he somehow made it physically impossible for Virgil to actually say something about their meeting - and,possibly, about Deceit in general. Virgil wasn't sure - he hadn't tested the reaches of whatever charm, spell, or potion was placed on his throat, as he did not particularly want to repeat the sensation if he could help it.

Virgil chewed on his lip as he contemplated how much- or how little - he could get away with telling Logan. The meeting with Deceit as well as Deceit's involvement in Toby's attack were undoubtedly out of the question, but could he speak of his concern that Deceit was still at large? It wouldn't give away anything...as it turned out, he wouldn't have to worry, because Logan changed the subject of his own volition.  
  
_"Oh, that reminds me,"_  Logan reached back into his bag and pulled out a book, one that Virgil recognized immediately.  _"The book that I borrowed from you. It was illuminating, to say the least."_  
  
"I take it you found what you were looking for?" Virgil asked.  
  
Logan nodded.  _"Indeed. I don't believe that I would have been able to confirm my hypothesis without the use of that book."_  
  
"...and?"   
  
The corners of Logan's mouth twisted up into a wry smile.  _"And I think it is best that I wait to share my findings with the group as a whole. I am, however, willing to share with you the overall conclusion that I have reached based on my research - Dalibor Petrović is a very dangerous wizard."_

"Nice and foreboding, Logan, that's great," Virgil remarked sardonically, shooting Logan a thumbs up before letting out a sigh and running a hand over his bangs.  
  
He could  _hardly wait_ to hear what brought Logan to this conclusion.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Virgil noted that he was one of the first to arrive to the abandoned classroom the next day. He couldn't be the only one who noticed they were meeting more this year than they were last year.  
  
Logan was the only other person in the room, understandable as not only was he the one to call the meeting in the first place, but he was almost always first to any sort of meeting.

One by one (and sometimes two by two), their friends walked into the room. The first to arrive, to Virgil's surprise, was Shane. Shane glanced around the room, looking just as surprised at this development as Virgil and Logan were.  _"No one else is here yet?"_  he asked as he took a seat a few seats down from Virgil. Virgil shook his head.  
  
The next to arrive, unsurprisingly together, were Patton and Roman. They were hand in hand as they walked through the door and took seats next to one another.  _"You didn't get any spoilers ahead of us, did you?"_  Roman called out to Shane and Virgil.  
  
"Its Logan's research, not the latest book release," Virgil responded with an eyeroll.

Era and Paige were the next to arrive, followed by Astrit a short time later. The last to arrive was Elliott, and they muttered apologies as they quickly made their way to a seat near Shane.  
  
Logan did a brief scan of the room, presumably to ascertain that everyone was present and accounted for, then cleared his throat.  _"I assume that all of you are wondering why I called you together today..."_  
  
 _"You found out something about that Dalibor Peterson guy, didn't you? Roman told us!"_  Shane called out.  
  
 _"...firstly the man's name is Dalibor Petrović. Secondly, Roman scarcely knows more than you do, so I do not see why he felt it necessary to...oh nevermind."_  Logan massaged the bridge of his nose, letting out a long sigh.  
  
 _"As you may know, I came up with a hypothesis at the close of one of our prior engagements. I sought to learn more to either confirm or deny this hypothesis. To do so, I borrowed the Dark Arts book that Virgil showed to us last year..."_  
  
 _"You have a Dark Arts book and you didn't tell us?"_  Elliott asked Virgil with wide eyes.  
  
Logan's eye twitched.  
  
 _"Let's hear what Logan has to say,"_  Paige hushed them, coming to the same conclusion Virgil did upon seeing Logan's tense posture and trying to keep on task.  
  
 _"Thank you, Paige. The subject I read about was scarcely noted in Hogwarts literature, but the book that Virgil obtained from his father's library proved to be a treasure trove of information."_  He cleared his throat and scanned the room once more. Virgil arched an eyebrow at this, biting his lip in an attempt to keep himself from smiling. Logan really ought to consider teaching, he was a natural at it. And he could still pursue his dreams of furthering himself in the field of Potions or Astronomy.  
  
 _"Has anyone present heard of a horcrux?"_

Virgil felt a shudder tear through him. He didn't know precisely what a horcrux was, but he knew that it was one of the darkest forms of Dark Magic that there were. Predictably, the majority of the others merely looked confused. Elliott's eyes were wide. Roman's hands flew to his mouth.  
  
Logan might as well have asked who in the room came from a dark family, as those three were the  _only_  ones to show some sign of recognition.   
  
 _"That's really dark magic. Insanely dark,"_  Elliott muttered.  _"...and you're saying you guys may have encountered a horcrux last year? Do you guys hold up signs asking trouble to come after you or does it just come naturally?"_    
  
Virgil let out a snort at that.   
  
 _"Roman...I can only assume from your expression that you have an idea of what a horcrux is?"_ Logan asked, and Virgil glanced over at Roman. Roman's face was ashen - he didn't just look like he'd seen a ghost, he looked like he was a ghost  _himself_.  
  
Roman swallowed.  _"Y-Yes. I do,"_  the Gryffindor stated somewhat hesitantly. Virgil shifted in his seat, his left leg bouncing up and down. He'd never seen Roman so subdued, save for perhaps the time they faced off against boggarts during the prior school year.  _"I..I do not wish to say how I know, but rest assured that I have never had personal experience with one. Thankfully,"_  Roman muttered, a shudder going through him.  
  
 _"I'm lost,"_  Paige interjected, looking somewhat nervous.  _"What exactly is a horcrux, and why is it so terrifying?"_  
  
 _"It plays against the very laws of the universe. It allows a witch or wizard to cheat death,"_  Logan explained.  
  
 _"Why do I have a feeling there's more to it than that?"_  Astrit groaned.  
  
 _"There is,"_  Logan agreed.  _"A witch or wizard creates a horcrux by taking a piece of their soul and storing it somewhere outside of their body. That way, even if their corporeal form is lost, they can be revived."_  
  
Era's eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth.  _"That...was that what we witnessed last year? He was attempting to..."_  
  
 _"Affirmative. The horcrux was the necklace. Astrit's blood was needed for the ceremony, as Astrit is a direct descendant of Petrović's. His sister's blood likely would have worked as well, but I figure that Petrović assumed that Astrit would be an easier acquisition than she would be, as Astrit was only a third year at the time,"_  Logan explained.  
  
 _"So when you say that Virgil was literally possessed by a dark wizard last year...he was_  literally  _possessed_  by one, because this dude made a horcrux?"[/i] Elliott asked.  
  
 _"I'd say that would be a valid conclusion, yes,"_  the Ravenclaw responded.  
  
Virgil shrunk in on himself. He wasn't sure if it merely  _felt_  as if all of the eyes in the room were suddenly on him or if they actually were staring at him. Either way, he found himself wishing that he'd already mastered Disapparition.


	10. Chapter 10

As it turned out? Virgil did not have to wait long for Apparition class. All sixth and seventh years who signed up for the class were to meet in a building in the village of Hogsmeade rented through the joint actions of the Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic.

  
Virgil remained both apprehensive and intrigued. There was so much that could go wrong, Apparition could be one of the more dangerous branches of magic if done incorrectly...but there was no denying the many benefits that being proficient in Apparition would offer.

 

Once the majority of the students who signed up arrived, two Ministry officials stood at the front of the room. One of them, a middle aged man, pointed his wand at his throat, presumably casting a Sonorus Charm, then spoke in a booming voice that carried around the room.

_"Good afternoon, young witches and wizards. Given the high volume of students who signed up for this class, we will be dividing you up into two groups. Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs, you may come with me. Ravenclaws and Slytherins, my colleague will take you upstairs."_  He gestured to the middle aged woman standing beside him, who nodded and flashed the group a small smile.

Virgil, Logan, Elliott, and Shane headed for the stairs along with the other Ravenclaws and Slytherins, while Roman, Patton, Era, and Paige stayed downstairs.

 

_"Hello! It is good to see you all here! Apparition as a concept is fairly simple to understand, it's more a matter of ensuring that you are in the correct mindset before you make any attempt to travel via this method. Too many people have been distracted while performing this exercise and have wound up splinching themselves...or worse,"_  the woman explained after introducing herself as Madam Nestati.

_"Worse? She certainly know how to set a mood,"_  Elliott wondered.

"I'll take that as my cue to leave," Virgil made to turn for the stairs, but Logan held out a hand to stop him.

_"Most cases of accidental splinching are easily remedied. We are in the presence of two highly trained Ministry officials and a short distance from Hogwarts. I doubt that we are in any danger,"_ Logan told him, along with flashing him a small smile.

 

_"...is hearing that we're close to Hogwarts supposed to be comforting? After all of the crazy things that have happened at that school?"_  Elliot commented dryly.

...that, too, was a fair point.

Virgil opted to stick around, at least for the time being. It wouldn't hurt to have more information before he made his decision...and besides, it wasn't like he had anything better planned for his afternoon.

_"In order to Apparate properly, it is important to remember the three D's - Destination, Determination, and Deliberation,"_  Madam Nestati continued.

 

Virgil watched warily as Madam Nestati waved her wand and several hoops appeared.  _"You will practice Apparating into your hoops like so..."_  Madam Nestati disappeared with a pop, then reappeared with another pop at the back of the room, near where Virgil, Elliott, Logan, and Shane were standing. Virgil jumped in surprise, Madam Nestati at least kind enough to shoot him an apologetic smile.

_"Now you try!"_  she announced to a room full of bewildered seventeen and eighteen year olds as she set back toward the front of the room.  _"Remember, you're aiming for your hoops, nowhere else. This way we can prevent the possibility of two students Apparating into the same space."_

Virgil stared wide-eyed at his hoop on the ground. They were expected to try  _now_? But they hardly had any instruction!

Shane closed his eyes and spun himself around and around. Elliott took a deep breath and sighed.  _"Here goes nothing,"_  they muttered, and turned on their spot.

'Nothing' was exactly what happened.

Logan was having similar difficulties, but rather than try once, Logan would spin once and open his eyes to gauge if he'd moved. When he saw that he had not, he would begin the process over again.

_"Come on, give it a try!"_  Madam Nestati said from behind him. Virgil's entire body jolted and he nearly fell forward.

Desperate to regain his composure so that he did not look like an idiot in front of the entire room, Virgil took a deep breath and spun. 

He opened his eyes. All that changed was that he was now facing Shane rather than Logan, and that Madam Nestati seemed pleased with this attempt and continued on her way.

...was it bad that he was glad that his first attempt at Apparition was an utter failure?

He only tried a few more times during the rest of the class, and typically only when he knew Madam Nestati was coming near their area of the room. He kept a close eye on where she was most of the time, having learned his lesson the hard way.

There was only one success the entire class, and that was Logan. Even in Logan's case, his successful Apparition was not a  _total_  success. He Disapparated and Apparated, but he somehow wound up in  _Virgil's_  hoop rather than his own.

On the bright side, at least there were no splinchings?

The group met together outside of the building. Virgil had to admit that he was curious to hear what the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs had to say about their own experience.

_"We had one splinching,"_  Era explained, and an involuntary shudder tore through Virgil. Either Logan had impeccable timing or he noticed the shudder, as his hand inconspicuously slipped into Virgil's.

_"What did they splinch?"_  Shane asked.

_"Their toe,"_  Patton replied.  _"They splinched their toe, but all our teacher had to do was perform a charm on it and it was as good as new!"_

 

"That makes it so much better," Virgil commented, sarcasm dripping from his tone. He'd still be freaked out by the experience if it happened to him,  _regardless_ of whether the teacher fixed it right away or not.

 

_"The next class is in a week. I can hardly wait!"_ Roman cheered.

 

Virgil, in the meantime, had to decide whether or not he even wanted to  _attend_ the next class.

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warnings for mentions of death, anxiety (though that's pretty much a given at this point), and dark magic.

Virgil sat cross-legged atop his bed, the Dark Arts book that Logan recently returned to him in front of him. Shane sat a few feet away atop his bed, and Elliott was perched at the end of Virgil's bed, watching the Dark Arts book with a wary expression.  
  
 _"We have to open it,"_  they said, breaking the silence that permeated the room.  
  
 _"Do we, though? I mean, it's all in the past, isn't it?"_  Shane asked, voice noticeably shaking.  
  
Elliott and Shane were voicing out loud the very argument taking place within Virgil. He was worried,  _terrified_  over what he might find - but he also felt that he  _needed_  to see. Logan's explanation of horcruxes was rudimentary at best, and though Virgil understood  _why_  Logan wouldn't want to go into further detail? It still felt like something was missing from the explanation. Something important.  
  
With a shaky hand, Virgil reached forward and opened the book in question. Logan, helpfully, still had a piece of paper sticking out from the book marking his spot from his research - Perhaps Logan intended for this to happen, and wanted to make it easier for the three Slytherins.  
  
 _"Well? What does it say?"_  Elliott asked apprehensively, staring at the book as if it would grow teeth and lunge after them.  
  
Virgil ran his top teeth over his bottom lip as he read silently.  His hands slowly curled around the fabric of his comforter, squeezing tightly.   
  
Elliott and Shane exchanged worried glances. Shane spoked up first.  _"Virgil, what does it..."_  
  
Virgil sprang up suddenly, heading for the door of the dormitory. Elliott and Shane looked utterly bewildered.  
  
 _"Virgil, where are you..."_  Elliott started.  
  
"I need to talk to Logan," he explained, then noticed Shane starting to get up out of the corner of his eye. "Alone. I want to talk to Logan  _alone_ ," he added.  
  
Shane let out a sigh and settled back down at the edge of his bed.  _"Can we at least look at the book while you're gone?"_  
  
Virgil sighed and nodded, catching a glimpse of Elliott and Shane diving for the book simultaneously in his peripheral vision.   
  
\----------------------------------------------------------  
  
 _"Virgil? Are you alright?"_  Logan inquired with a frown as Virgil strode up to him. Logan was speaking to another Ravenclaw, a girl with medium-length brown hair who eyed him curiously.   
  
"I'm never alright," Virgil retorted. "But that's beside the point. I need to talk to you."  
  
The girl slipped a piece of paper into Logan's hand.  _"Just look that over, alright? You're the best editor this school has, and I want to make sure that article's fit to print."_  As she walked away from Logan, she stopped in front of Virgil, smirking.  _"Virgil, right? Chelsea, head writer of the Hogwarts Herald. Logan's the editor. He won't shut up about you,"_  she said with a wink and a chuckle.  _"Don't get up to anything too crazy while I'm gone,"_  she teased, then continued on her way.  
  
Virgil watched her retreating back with his eyes wide. He hadn't even had a chance to get in a word edgewise.  
  
Logan cleared his throat.  _"I apologize for..."_  
  
"I didn't even know that we  _had_  a school paper," Virgil muttered.  
  
Logan snorted at that.  _"It's not particularly wide-read. It's actually Chelsea's pet project. She thinks it's the best way to call attention to the issues as they pertain to Hogwarts and the wizarding world as a whole. Her words, not mine. She is particularly interested in Deceit's disappearance and the implications that it may have, and also where he might have fled to. One particular theory of hers suggesting that he is hidden at_  Hogwarts  _and may be attempting to disrupt matters in the school once again seems a bit absurd to me, as one would think that he would be easily caught, but otherwise she has fairly solid ideas."_  
  
Virgil felt his throat tighten at the mere  _thought_  of saying something in response to Logan's commentary regarding Deceit, and Virgil knew that the subject of his brother was still off limits. Virgil cleared his throat in an attempt to clear the unwanted sensation.  
  
Why did Chelsea's theory about Deceit have to be so painfully close to the truth?  
  
And was it just a lucky guess or did she  _know something_?  
  
Which reminded Virgil of why he came to talk to Logan in the first place. He cleared his throat once more, the feeling of fullness within his throat beginning to dissipate, though not disappear entirely.  
  
 _"Are you alright, Virgil?"_  Logan frowned.  
  
Virgil nodded and cleared his throat one more time. Confident that he could speak at last, Virgil began. "Elliott, Shane, and I were looking up...you-know-whats."  
  
 _"I'm afraid that I do not, you will have to be more specific,"_  Logan stated blankly. It took everything within Virgil's power to resist the urge he had to slap his own forehead. Why was Logan so astute when it came to certain things, but when it came to things that Virgil found hard to say, Logan's skills toward observation seemed to vanish into thin air?  
  
Virgil glanced around surreptitiously, making certain that no one was within hearing distance. "I'm trying to get to the  _crux_  of the  _horrible_  matter, but it's not exactly easy from where we stand."  
  
Logan opened his mouth to speak but then gave pause. His mouth opened slightly to form an 'ohhhh' and he nodded.  _"I see what you are saying. Perhaps we should move to a different area before we carry on this discussion?"_  
  
Virgil nodded, and the two of them hastily made their way toward their favorite abandoned classroom. Logan stepped inside first, followed by Virgil who immediately closed the door behind himself.  
  
He then  _immediately_  launched into his monologue. "Logan, what the hell? Why would you keep something like that from me?" he hissed. "I mean, you said Dalibor Petrović was a bad wizard, but I didn't realize how  _bad_  you meant. You didn't say that it doesn't even say how you make a horcrux because it's too gruesome to name within a  _Dark Arts_  book. A  _Dark Arts_  book, Logan. It's too dark for a  _Dark Arts_  book." Virgil was pacing back and forth, but he scarcely noticed where his legs were taking him as he was too focused on venting the contents of his mind onto Logan. "You didn't say the one thing that someone has to do in order to be able to split their soul in the first place, something he  _had_  to have done because he very clearly had a horcrux that he used on  _me_ last year and forced  _me_  to do his bidding and what if he forced  _me_  to do something like that, and and and..."  
  
Holy shmokes he was out of breath.  
  
He practically threw himself into an empty seat, his thoughts zipping this way and that and his heart beating so hard that he could feel it in his throat.  
  
Logan, for his part, at least had the sense to look troubled.  _"You ask why I did not tell you all of this? This, Virgil. This is why. I did not wish to..."_  
  
"What, Logan? What did you not wish to do?" Virgil snapped, carding a trembling hand through his own hair.  
  
 _"Worry you, Virgil! I did not wish to worry you!"_  Logan bit back.  
  
Virgil's eyes blew wide, and all of the pent up anger evaporated at once. "Logan, I...I just..."  
  
 _"Did you think that I was keeping this information from you for fun, Virgil? I simply did not wish to overwhelm you! It is a lot to take in at once."_  
  
"Try reading all of that as the guy who was possessed by that creep," Virgil shuddered.  
  
 _"Try reading all of that as the guy who_  watched you  _possessed by that creep_ ," Logan retorted, and Virgil immediately realized his error.   
  
"I'm sorry," Virgil mumbled. "I forgot that you..."  
  
 _"It is easy to get so wrapped up in our own trials and tribulations that we sometimes forget the trials of others. Apology accepted, though I would advise you not to let it happen again, lest it cloud your judgment,"_  Logan responded.  
  
"Thanks, Lo," Virgil held his thumb to his mouth, nibbling slightly on the nail.  
  
 _"I will admit that there is one piece I found particularly disturbing in the reading, a piece that has haunted me ever since I lay eyes on it. A piece that I think we would do well to keep in mind,"_ Logan admitted, turning to Virgil.  
  
Virgil let his hand fall to his side and braced himself. "Yes?"  
  
 _"It is not an easy task to destroy a horcrux. There are only certain, powerful forms of magic than can be used to destroy the bond between a dark wizard's soul and the object that he or she has cursed. As far as I know, we have not encountered any such magics, aside from the horcrux itself of course,"_  Logan explained.  _"Which would thereby mean..."_  
  
"...the horcrux...the necklace...it's still around. And as long as it's still around, Dalibor Petrović is still a threat."


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for death, forced silencing, choking...I'm not sure what else to add here but yeah.

As Virgil expected, Elliott and Shane were waiting for him when he returned from his meeting with Logan. Virgil hastily explained  _most_  of what was discussed, and both Slytherins were as troubled by the news as Virgil was. So were the others once they learned of it - which didn't take long, all things considered.  
  
_"I'm just not sure what to think. The monster that kidnapped and hurt Astrit last year...there's a chance he may return?"_  Era narrowed her eyes.  _"I dare him to try it, actually. I'll take him out myself this time."_  
  
_"Huh, maybe you're the Dragon Witch that you and Virgil prophesied. The one who will take Dalibor Petrović out for good!"_  Paige chimed in, a determined look on her features.  
  
_"Bear in mind that we don't know whether this Dragon Witch is friend or foe,"_  Logan reminded them.  
  
Virgil yawned, doing his best to keep up with their conversation but finding it difficult to do so when it was getting late and he had not slept particularly well the night before, what with everything they'd learned going through his mind.  
  
He was out almost as soon as his head hit the pillow that night.  
  
_"Come along, my little puppet. We have work to do."_  
  
_Virgil tried to protest, but his words died on his lips. He was pulled along, seemingly by invisible strings controlling his every move._  
  
_He was completely at the mercy of the strings. What they did was law, and there was little he could do to stop it. Even as the string forced him to retrieve his wand from his pocket. Even as the string forced him to raise his wand one by one at each of his friends, his boyfriend. As the string forced him to say the Killing Curse time and time again, the light to fade from each and every one of their eyes as they crumpled to the ground. And after it finished, a man stepped forth, his face still shrouded by the surrounding darkness._  
  
_"Amazing show, my puppet. Shall we give them an encore?" Dalibor Petrović asked. He tugged on the strings connecting him to Virgil, manipulating them as he saw fit._  
  
_The strings pulled Virgil's mouth upward into a small smile._  
  
Virgil awoke with a jerk, his heart pounding as if he'd ran a few laps around the school.

He'd been plagued by many such nightmares as of late, not surprising given all they'd learned about the subject of said nightmares as of late. They tried in vain to search for what happened to Dalibor Petrović after he vanished. They knew that he disappeared shortly after his son turned five, and that some time after said disappearance he made a horcrux. Other than that, they were operating with little to no information.  
  
_"He must have changed his name,"_  Patton reasoned during one of many conversations about said dark wizard.  
  
_"What if he changed his name to the Dragon Witch?!"_  Roman responded dramatically.  
  
Virgil had to admit that there was one advantage to his friends' apparent obsession with the mystery of the Dragon Witch and Dalibor Petrović - they didn't mention much about  _Deceit_ , and Virgil's throat had a nice reprieve from whatever spell or curse it was that plagued him whenever Deceit's name  _was_  mentioned.  
  
As with most things in his life, he should have known that it was too good to last.  
  
Chelsea, the Ravenclaw girl Logan was speaking with before, passed him in the hall and whispered something troubling.  _"I know you're hiding something, and soon the entire school will know,"_  she muttered to him. Before he had a chance to respond, she was already halfway down the hall.  
  
...there was a  _lot_  he was hiding, and he knew from Logan that Chelsea's had a very active imagination, so there was a  chance that it was nothing. Virgil couldn't help but feel apprehensive nonetheless.   
  
He was right to feel that way, it turned out.   
  
_Does Virgil Thompson Know More About His Brothers' Whereabouts Than He Is Letting On? The Hogwarts Herald Investigates._  
  
Roman practically threw the paper at him. Virgil felt his blood run cold at the headline, wary eyes searching out Roman to see the look of indignation on their face.  
  
_"How dare she...what gives her the right to..."_  he growled.  
  
Virgil expelled air that he did not even realize that he was holding.  
  
Roman wasn't angry at  _him_ , he was angry at  _Chelsea_.   
  
Logan, too, cut off communication with Chelsea after the article was published. Though she usually passed such articles by Logan for editing, whether they were written by herself or one of the other staff on the paper, this one she slipped by him: presumably because she  _knew_  that as Virgil's boyfriend, Logan would not be pleased about such an article.  
  
Virgil gained a savage sort of satisfaction when he heard Chelsea urging Logan to reconsider, that he was the best editor the Hogwarts Herald could ask for.  
  
_"I suppose you should have consider that before issuing your libel against my boyfriend's character,"_  Logan bit back coldly.   
  
Virgil was troubled, though. As heartwarming as it was to see his friends (and boyfriend) stand up for him...Chelsea's article hit closer to the truth than he liked. Virgil  _did_  know more about his brother's whereabouts than he was letting on. A  _lot_  more. But he could not come forward with the truth. It was not just fear holding him back, but something  _literal_  that plagued his throat, even occasionally his tongue whenever he attempted to broach the subject with another person.   
  
Deceit was literally silencing him, and he hated it.  
  
_"I am not silencing you, you are silencing yourself,"_  Deceit told him during their second meeting outside of the Forbidden Forest, a meeting that he would rather  _not_  attend but recognized that he  _had_  to, lest something happen to one of his friends or even an innocent child like Toby. Deceit showed that he was not above using whatever methods necessary to get what it was that he wanted.  _"Alas, you should embrace your newfound title as my accomplice within Hogwarts...that is, after all, exactly what you are. But just to ensure you don't talk..."_  
  
Deceit vanished within the same smoke as before, leaving Virgil coughing as his throat spasmed painfully,  _familiarly_.  
  
_It's the freakin' smoke,_  Virgil realized suddenly, though far too late to hold his breath or do anything to shield himself against it.  
  
Virgil made his way up to the castle, occasionally finding himself seized by a fit of coughing. A fit of coughing that he  _knew_  would ensure his continued silence on the matter of his brother.  
  
_Least things can't get much worse than they are now,_  Virgil thought to himself.  
  
He didn't see the figure that lurked in the shadows as he strode back through the doors to the Entrance Hall.


	13. Chapter 13

_"I just don't get it,"_  Roman muttered, moving his piece forward.  
  
 _"What is it that you have difficulty comprehending?"_  Logan responded, reaching forth and moving his own piece.  _"Check."_  
  
Roman grumbled, though he made his next move nevertheless.  _"What Chelsea Turner is trying to prove with her outrageous lies about Virgil,"_  Roman responded.  
  
Virgil, Patton, Logan, Roman, Era, and Paige were all gathered together. Specifically, Logan and Roman were engaged in an intense game of wizard's chess while the other four watched.  
  
Elliott and Shane were off attending a meeting that consisted of Professor Foley and a few other Slytherins. They made Virgil promise the two of them that he would fill them in on any exciting new developments, provided that there were any.  
  
Thus far the only 'news' he had to report back to his Slytherin friends was that Roman Prince was downright terrible at wizard's chess - at least when Logan was his opponent.

 _"I figure that she is operating under the assumption that Virgil is aiding his brother because the two of them used to fraternize frequently with one another in the past."_  Logan moved another piece.  _"Checkmate."_  
  
Roman stared at the board as if he could not believe what he was hearing, as if he needed to see proof positive that what Logan was saying was true. He let out a groan.  _"Best two out of three?"_  
  
Logan arched an eyebrow.  _"We have already played two games and I won both of them."_

 _"Best three out of five then!"_  Roman insisted.  
  
"He's not taking this loss very well is he?" Virgil muttered to Era, who let out a snort and stepped forward.  
  
 _"I'll play a game against you,"_  she told Logan. Roman pouted as he moved aside.  _"Good luck, Era,"_ he told her.  
  
 _"Thanks. Someone has to defend Gryffindor's honor after all,"_  she smirked, leaving Roman looking utterly affronted.   
  
Paige covered her mouth as she snickered. Virgil busted out laughing. Patton put his arm around his boyfriend's shoulder.  _"It's alright, there's always next time!"_  
  
It was easy to tell soon into the game that it would be close. Virgil never saw Era play wizard's chess before, but she was no novice.

 _"How can you just sit there and take what Chelsea is saying about you?"_  Roman asked him out of the blue, having clearly recovered from whatever temporary funk his wizard's chess losses put him in.  
  
"...it's a newspaper article about rumors I've heard since last year. What do you expect me to do? Confronting her about it's just gonna draw more attention to it," Virgil explained.  _That and the article is a lot closer to the truth than I want to admit._

 _"Don't you want to defend your honor?"_  Roman protested, looking aghast.  
  
Virgil stared at Roman as if he'd suddenly sprouted a second head that was perfectly fluent in Parseltongue. "...what  _honor_ , Princey?"  
  
 _"You know, your..."_  Roman gestured helplessly, as if this would help him to arrive at an answer more quickly.  _"Your honor,"_  he finished awkwardly.  
  
 _"I wasn't aware Virgil was a judge,"_  Patton snickered, unable to help himself. The corners of Virgil's mouth twitched upward as well.  
  
"You don't have much 'honor' to defend as a 6th year student at Hogwarts. Besides, I've dealt with a lot worse than that," Virgil waved his hand.  
  
 _"But it's never been in print before!"_  Roman insisted.  
  
 _"Roman, this might not be the way you would deal with something like this, but can't you accept that Virgil has different experiences and wants to handle it his own way?"_  Paige interjected.   
  
Roman seemed to have a retort ready on the tip of his tongue, but then let out a sigh.  _"I just...it doesn't seem right. And I like to fix things that don't seem right."_  
  
 _"That'll be why you were sorted into Gryffindor, Ro,"_  Patton smiled.  _"And I don't think either of them are saying that you're wrong, just that how you'd handle something like this and how they would are entirely different."_  
  
 _"I suppose so. But I can't promise that Chelsea Turner won't hear an earful the next time I come across her. I have a few choice words for her,"_  Roman muttered.  
  
"And I can't stop you from saying what you want to say to her. Merlin knows I've tried to shut you up before and it's never worked so why would it start now?" Virgil teased.  
  
Roman huffed just as Era spoke.  _"Checkmate,"_  she told Logan after she moved her knight into position and watched it bash to pieces one of Logan's rooks.  
  
This time it was Logan's turn to gape at the chessboard. Unlike Roman, however, he graciously (albeit reluctantly) accepted his defeat, holding out his hand for Era to shake.  _"Good game. I did not know you had such a talent for wizard's chess."_  
  
 _"Neither did I. It's my first time playing,"_  Era replied evenly.   
  
Logan's eyes widened.  _"I...don't know what to say...I..."_    
  
Paige held a hand to her mouth, trying to stifle a sudden fit of giggles.  _"Era, tell him before he has an identity crisis."_  
  
The corners of Era's mouth curved upward into a smirk before she started to laugh.  _"I'm kidding. I played with my papa all the time when I was small,"_  she explained.  
  
Logan still looked a little off color, but significantly better than he did before. 

 _"Guys, it's 9pm. We should probably get back to our Common Rooms,"_ Patton pointed out suddenly. There was a flurry of movement as a few of the others checked their watches as well, Virgil included. He was surprised that it was so late.

The group said their goodnights and dispersed. Virgil, Paige, and Patton walked together until Patton and Paige reached the Hufflepuff Common Room, and then they said their goodnights as well. Virgil felt a bit odd walking back to the Common Room on his own, having been joined by Elliott and Shane most of the time as of late, but he supposed they were probably waiting for him inside. Virgil was nearly to the Slytherin Common Room when he thought he spotted someone or something in the shadows. He turned at once, only to see nothing. 

How peculiar.

 


	14. Chapter 14

Virgil could not help but note the sheer volume of Defense Against the Dark Arts books and he suspected that he knew why. Logan had an interest in Defense Against the Dark Arts, yes, but it was not to Virgil's level. Logan preferred Astronomy and Potions, and normally his book selection reflected this.  
  
"Logan, if you wanted tutoring in Defense Against the Dark Arts, you could have just asked," Virgil told him once they made it out to the hallway.  
  
Logan spluttered and nearly dropped the books he carried in his arms.  _"I...I'm sorry, what?"_  
  
Virgil covered his mouth with his hands to disguise from view how much he was actually snickering at the sight. Nevertheless, the way his shoulders shook might give a few hints as to what was happening.  
  
"Kidding. But seriously, you should  _probably_  leave a few books for other students," Virgil remarked, a slight grin on his face the giveaway that he was still messing with Logan.  
  
Logan shrugged.  _"I feel that what I am utilizing them for is more important than mere classes."_  
  
That all but confirmed Virgil's suspicions.

Virgil hated feeling like he had to look over his shoulder constantly as of late, but between Chelsea's article, Deceit, and the odd feelings he'd been having over the past few days? He didn't want to take any chances. He pulled Logan into an empty classroom and closed the door behind him, immediately casting a muffling charm on the door so that no one could listen in.

_"Before you ask - yes Virgil, I am doing further research pertaining to horcruxes."_

Virgil eyed the pile of books in Logan's hand as he set them down on a desk. "I thought you said the school library didn't have much in the way of information about horcruxes?"

_"They don't,"_  Logan confirmed.  _"That is not what I am researching...not directly, at least. As a matter of fact, I would be surprised if any book had the exact information that I was looking for."_

Virgil took a seat atop one of the desks in the room, letting his feet rest in the chair attached. "What sort of stuff are you looking for?"

_"Information on how to destroy horcruxes,"_  Logan responded, taking a proper seat in one of the desks.

 

"You mean none of these books have a chapter titled 'How To Destroy Horcruxes'? Shocker," Virgil spun around slightly so that he was facing Logan head on.

_"Of course not. Why make it unnecessarily easy?"_  Logan remarked with a wry smirk.  _"That being said, I am not in the least bit surprised that such information is difficult to extract from any one source. Not only are horcruxes a dark, rare magic, but they are crafted with the explicit purpose of being near impossible to destroy. After all, who wants to preserve a piece of their soul in an effort to obtain immortality in an item that could be destroyed through ordinary means?"_

 

"So you're looking for extraordinary means."

  
_"Exactly,"_  Logan confirmed.  _"And you're going to help me."_

"...excuse me?"

_"You are going to help me. You are one of the best at Defense Against the Dark Arts out of our friend group, I wish for your assistance,"_  Logan elaborated.

"I mean yeah, of course I'll help you, but do we even know where the necklace is? It might have been destroyed already."

 

_"I have considered the possibility and find it highly unlikely, given the sort of magic that would be required to destroy such a powerful object."_

Virgil played around with the sleeves on his robes, trying to pull a loose string off the end of one of the arms. "Wouldn't the Ministry have confiscated it?"

Logan shook his head.  _"I know for a fact that they did not. I looked through their report of the scene. The necklace was not on their list of items located."_

"What?!" Logan startled at Virgil's outburst, not having expected that sort of reaction.

 

_"I fail to see what I have said that has warranted that sort of reaction-"_

 

"If the Ministry didn't confiscate it, that means that it's still out there somewhere," Virgil said slowly.

 

_"Yes, that is why I am researching ways that we may destroy the horcrux, because I recognize the danger,"_ Logan replied.

 

"...we have no idea where the necklace is," Virgil ran a hand over his hair.

 

_"Would it not be where we left it last, on the floor of the cave when it fell out of your hand?"_ Logan looked puzzled.

 

Virgil shook his head. "The Ministry would have seen it. Unless someone entered the cave with the Ministry and smuggled it out of there without being seen..."

 

Each possibility that Virgil considered felt worse than the last. "In our best case scenario, someone removed it from the cave, never made skin contact with it, and has it laying around somewhere...in which case it's a ticking time bomb. Worst case scenario, Dalibor Petrovic is possessing someone else."

 

_"There is a third possibility,"_ Logan mused.

 

"What's that?" 

 

_"That the necklace may have been left out of the Ministry report as viewable to those outside of the department. My father works at the Ministry of Magic, and I accompanied him to work one day over the summer. It was at that time that I was able to glimpse the report. There is a chance that the matter of the necklace may have been relegated to another department, one with a higher security clearance, such as the Department Of Mysteries,"_ Logan explained.

 

"...great, if the Department of Mysteries has it we'll  _never_ see it again. And what if one of those guys gets possessed? We don't even know what they study in there! What if it's some sort of dark magic? They do background checks on Unspeakables, they don't do background checks on super centenarian dark wizards who possess people using cursed jewelry, " Virgil groaned.

 

_"Either way, whether or not the necklace can be found in the Department of Mysteries is irrelevant. We need to know what to do if we encounter that necklace, or something like it, again,"_ Logan stated, then handed Virgil a book.  _"Let's get to reading."_


	15. Chapter 15

Against what was probably Virgil's better judgment, he continued with Apparition. He was no closer to actually Apparating, though there were a few more successes (and a few more splinchings).  
  
He would continue to attend the class so that he had the knowledge in case he ever needed it, but like flying he didn't plan on utilizing it very often if he could help it.  
  
Roman had a successful apparition in their last class and would not shut up about it. He seemed exceptionally boastful about his accomplishments as of late, as if he had something to prove after his defeat at the hands of Logan in wizard's chess.

Other than Logan, none of Virgil's other friends has a successful apparition.   
  
One of the splinchings was Shane, thankfully only a finger that was easy enough to repair.  _"Hey, it beats getting cursed by a cursed object someone planted near you and having to spend a couple of weeks in St. Mungo's. I'd take ten splinchings over that!"_  Shane proclaimed later, after his initial panic over the incident abated some.  
  
Though Virgil couldn't disagree with that assessment - he too would take splinching a finger over his own experience with a cursed object the year before - it wasn't enough to convince him that the risks were worth it. It didn't help that one night he'd fallen down a rabbit hole of research where he came across many gruesome splinching injuries - complete with accompanying pictures.  
  
_"You know, you really are not doing yourself any favors,"_  Logan muttered, raising an eyebrow.  _"The chances of you obtaining an injury such as this are slim to none, and even if something like this does happen, Madam Nestati will mend it,"_  he reasoned.  
  
Likely true, but didn't stop him from worrying himself silly over it.  
  
Which was why, when another sign-up sheet appeared on the wall outside of the Great Hall, Virgil was again hesitant to add his name. He and Logan approached the board after dinner. Roman's name was one of the first listed. Era and Paige also added their names, as well as Astrit, Elliott, and Shane. Logan walked up to the sheet and penned in his name, then turned to Virgil.  _"Do you want me to write you in?"_  
  
Virgil nibbled at his bottom lip. "I don't...know."  
  
Logan blinked.  _"Its Dueling Club, I would have thought you would have jumped at this opportunity."_  
  
Virgil gave Logan a skeptical look. "Why would you think that?"  
  
_"Your interest in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Dueling Club offers a chance to experiment with such magic in battle within a structured environment that ensures that no lasting physical harm will be done to the participants,"_  Logan explained.  
  
Huh. When Logan put it that way, Virgil stepped forward and took the pen from Logan. He quickly jotted his name on the sign up sheet before the doubts could creep back in and he could change his mind. Even now, there was a small part of Virgil that itched to dart forward and cross his name off of the list

Virgil wasn't the only one convinced through Logan's reasoning.   
  
"Can I see that pen?" Patton asked softly. Virgil handed it to him and watched as Patton scribbled his name beneath Virgil's.  
  
_"I would have thought you would have signed up earlier with Roman? I saw the two of you over here earlier,"_  Logan told him.  
  
_"I wasn't sure I wanted to at first,"_  Patton admitted.  _"Not that I have any problem with you guys doing it, but you know me...I'm a lover, not really a fighter. But...Logan, you're right. It doesn't hurt to know these things in case we ever need them in the future, right?"_  
  
"Yep," Virgil agreed. "Plus we could learn some new things, right?"  
  
_"Indeed we could. The sign-ups are for all ages, but it is my understanding that we will be divided into three age groups once actual duels commence. 1st and 2nd years will comprise one group, 3rd, 4th, and 5th years another, and 6th and 7th years another,"_  Logan informed them.  
  
_"Awww, so Astrit and the triplets won't be in a group with us!"_  Patton frowned.  
  
_"It is only fair. Any of us against one of the triplets would hardly make for a fair fight,"_  Logan pointed out.  _"Astrit would admittedly fare better, but the fact remains that he is only a 4th year and still has another year before he will even take his OWLs."_  
  
The rest of them were 6th years and therefore NEWT students. Logan made a good point.

Something Patton said made Virgil take pause. "Did you say the triplets wouldn't be with us? Did they sign up for this?"

Patton nodded.  _"Yep, here are the twins. And right down here's Toby!_ _"_ Patton pointed to each name with a smile.  _"Even if we won't be dueling them ourselves, I'm looking forward to seeing how they do in Dueling Club. Astrit too! I bet they'll be better than anyone in their years!"_

Virgil chuckled. "Cause that's not biased at all, Pat." He wasn't sure about the triplets, especially since they were only first years and he hadn't seen much of their magical prowess in action, but Astrit? Astrit could do it. He'd seen Astrit in action.

 _"I look forward to seeing how we fare against other students and perhaps even one another. I wonder if the first meeting will merely be an overview or if we will actually get the chance to duel someone,"_ Logan pondered out loud.

"Well it is  _Dueling_ Club, I'd hope we'd get to duel someone at some point." 

 _"Yes, but there are a lot of students that have signed up. I think it all comes down to how organized things are on the first day,"_ Logan explained.

 _"I should get going, I told Roman I'd meet with him after dinner. Later guys!"_ Patton flashed a grin at the other two and then scampered off.

"I think that's our cue. You wanna go back to your dorm, work on homework, or stargaze?" Virgil asked, slipping his hands into the pockets of his robes. He didn't particularly care which option they went with himself, though he wouldn't mind spending a bit more time with Logan given that it wasn't  _too_ late yet.

Logan couldn't help but grin.  _"Which one do you think?"_

The corners of Virgil's mouth twitched upward. "To the Astronomy Tower?"

Logan nodded.  _"To the Astronomy Tower."_


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By popular demand...some Analogical time <3

_"Almost there..."_  Logan worked on setting up the telescope they would be using, the same telescope that Virgil gifted him on his birthday a few months before.  
  
"Glad you're getting good usage out of that," Virgil commented. And to think, he nearly returned the gift fearing that Logan would already have one or wouldn't like it.  
  
Logan shrugged.  _"I am still considering following a career path concerning Astronomy. Though Potions is still in the plans as well. It will depend on the opportunities that present themselves after Hogwarts if nothing else, though I do hope to narrow my options to one or two."_  
  
"A professor?" Virgil asked.  
  
_"That is one of my considerations, yes. I do rather enjoy my tutoring sessions - I am up to four students now,"_ Logan reported.  
  
"...yeah I think I'll just stick with Astrit. Four students is  _way_  too much pressure. How do you even find time for that?"

 _"Each tutoring session takes up one hour per week. That is only four hours overall per week, which is easily managed as long as one keeps to a schedule"_  Logan explained.  
  
"...yeah, you'd  _definitely_  make a good professor," Virgil snorted.

Logan made a few last minute adjustments to his telescope before turning to Virgil.  _"Was there anything in particular that you wished to look at tonight, Virgil?"_  
  
"Nah, I'm cool with whatever," Virgil responded.  
  
Logan looked contemplative.  _"Do you have a favorite planet?"_  
  
Virgil blinked at that. It was honestly a question he hadn't thought much about.   
  
_"If you do not, that is fine, I just figured we could start with your favorite planet if you had one,"_ Logan hastily explained.  
  
It wasn't that Virgil thought the question was silly. He just wasn't sure how to answer. The majority of other planets within the solar system were simultaneously terrifying yet fascinating. He would never  _ever_  in a million years want to travel to one, even if he were in a protected spacecraft (via Muggle or magic means), because what if that protection failed and left him exposed to more extreme conditions than he could even  _dream_  of encountering on Earth.  
  
...but as far off worlds? Okay, they  _could_  be pretty damn intriguing.

"Have you ever heard of TrES-2b?" Virgil asked him.  
  
Logan stared at Virgil.  
  
"Its an exoplanet, but you didn't say it had to he a planet in our solar system. It's a planet that hardly reflects any light. What little light that it does reflect is red, but it's so faint that even that can barely be seen. Its apparently darker than any other planet or moon that we've encountered, and they don't know why. It's...it's really interesting," Virgil played with the strings of his hoodie, rocking on his feet slightly.

 _"No no, I have heard of it. I'm just...surprised. I was expecting a planet with our solar system,"_ Logan explained.  _"I was not aware that the existence of said planet was common knowledge within the wizarding world."_  
  
"Its not," Virgil told him. "My aunt gave me a book over the summer. She's Muggleborn, you know. That's the reason I didn't get to see much of them when I was younger - My dad didn't approve of their marriage. My mom wasn't happy with it but she didn't want to make waves. She'd already had..." He paused. "My brother and I by that point."  
  
Logan glanced skyward, a small smile on his face.  _"I used to go stargazing with my father often when I was younger. Still do occasionally, when we find the time."_  
  
"Oh?" Virgil inclined his head slightly, waiting for Logan to continue.   
  
_"It can be...difficult to relate with him on occasion. He is, as you know, a Muggle, and while I can discuss matters concerning the wizarding world with my mother unabated, my father struggles to understand. He cannot relate. He never attended Hogwarts or studied the sorts of subjects that we do here. But Astronomy...Astronomy is something that spans both worlds. When I speak to him about Astronomy, he understands. He has even admitted to feeling a bit jealous, as Muggle institutes for secondary education do not typically offer courses for continued study of Astronomy."_  
  
"Huh," Virgil responded, the corners of his mouth twitching upward as well.  
  
Logan adjusted the settings once more, then peered through the scope.  _"Sadly, I don't believe that I will be able to show you TrES-2b. I inquired as to your favorite planet in the hopes that we could commence our journey through the universe there, but..."_  
  
Virgil covered his mouth as he started to snicker. "But then I picked one of the hardest objects to spot in the night sky with even the most advanced equipment. Sorry Lo."  
  
_"Yes, well, I figured we could begin with some of Saturn's moons instead. I have always found Titan particularly intriguing, as it remains the only known moon that possesses a dense atmosphere. There have been a number of suggestions within the Muggle Astronony community that the planet may have conditions to support life, albeit of the prokaryotic and extremophilic variety."_  
  
"...yeah you lost me at prokaryotic," Virgil grinned sheepishly.  
  
_"Ah yes, they do not teach much on biology at Hogwarts - something that really ought to be changed - but prokaryotes are single-celled organisms such as bacteria. Extremophiles are, as the name would suggest, organisms that may survive extreme conditions rarely seen on Earth,"_  Logan elaborated.  
  
"So...aliens, basically. They're looking for aliens," Virgil clarified. "That's neat. You know, sometimes the wizarding world feels way more advanced than the Muggle world, but other times it feels like we're hopelessly behind."  
  
_"An observation that I have made myself,"_  Logan agreed.  _"Sadly, I also feel that there are too large a number of closed-minded people within both populations to suggest that the two societies inter-mingle on a larger scale with one another."_  
  
"There'd be a war," Virgil sighed. "People like my dad would flip their lids."

The two stood in relative silence for a moment, Virgil finally glancing at the telescope. "You mind if I start?"  
  
Logan shook his head.  _"Be my guest, I have already looked through it several times while attempting to adjust it."_  
  
Virgil glanced through the telescope, marveling at the crisp detail.

"I can never get my telescope this focused in class," Virgil admitted.  
  
Logan shrugged modestly.  _"Easily attributed to the quality of the telescope."_  
  
Virgil shook his head and grinned the slightest bit. "I'm trying to give you a compliment here Lo, can you at least play along?"   
  
Logan turned a faint shade of red and cleared his throat.  _"Oh...oh. Thank you, Virgil."_

And though Virgil still felt somewhat apprehensive about Apparition and Dueling Club and everything else that was happening in his life as of late? It felt nice just to take some time out of the day to look up at the stars with Logan.


	17. Chapter 17

Virgil arrived to the first Dueling Club meeting alongside Elliott and Shane. The room was absolutely packed.  _"Looks like three quarters of the school signed up,"_  Elliott remarked to the other two.  
  
Shane whistled.  _"Sure does. Wonder if we'll get a chance to duel everyone in our age group?"_  
  
Virgil, in the meantime, stayed silent and wondered why he allowed Logan to talk him into this.  
  
He wasn't a fan of crowds, but he could deal with them in the case of meals and trips to Hogsmeade and the like. Here at Dueling Club, his skill at dueling would be on display for anyone to see, and what if he screwed up and looked like an idiot?  
  
 _Everyone_  would see.   
  
 _"Attention,"_  Virgil heard a muffled voice call out, but the hubbub continued.  
  
 _"ATTENTION STUDENTS,"_  the voice repeated, much louder this time as it echoed through the room. Had Virgil not heard the first shout, he likely would have startled.  
  
A few students did, glancing toward the front of the room immediately. The room fell relatively silent, save for a few soft whispers.  
  
 _"Thank you,"_  Professor Goodwin told the room.  _"We will divide you up into groups. 1st and 2nd years will go with Professor Foley, 3rd, 4th, and 5th years with Professor Avenir, and 6th and 7th years will come with me. The majority of duels within this club will be sorted by age group, but there will be a tournament that commences at a later date. All ages will be permitted to participate in that one,"_  Professor Goodwin explained.  _"6th and 7th years, please follow me. We are headed next door,"_  she told them.  
  
Virgil rolled his shoulders in an attempt to work the tension out of them. He snorted as he passed a few familiar 1st years on his way out the door. August and Seth were in an apparent argument over which one of them would be the first first year to ever win a schoolwide dueling tournament. Toby was standing nearby, watching the two with a bemused expression.   
  
Oh how he could relate.  
  
Once they were settled in the room next door, Virgil felt some of his nerves melting away. Not all, but  _some_.  
  
At least if he screwed up only the other 6th years and 7th years would witness it? Not that this was much better, as 6th and 7th years were by and large his peer group and thus the age group he associated with most.  
  
 _"I'm happy to see such a prominent interest in Dueling Club in our students! Many of you are in NEWT level Defense Against the Dark Arts classes...I will be interested to see you putting the skills that you have learned in these classes and others to the test,"_  Professor Goodwin addressed them.  
  
 _"I will be pairing you up with a dueling partner, and I will observe each duel to get an idea of your skill level. I have placed each of your names within a container, and the name that you are matched with will be your partner,"_  the professor continued.  
  
Great. They didn't even get to choose their own partners. On the bright side, they weren't being forced to walk around and find their own partners in someone they barely knew - such requests in other classes were always the bane of Virgil's existence, especially before he was close to the others. Nothing felt worse than walking around trying to find a partner only to discover that everyone else was already paired off.

Well, nothing worse than being forcibly partnered with someone you didn't get along with.

 _"Logan Dicax, you will be dueling Roman Prince,"_  the professor read.  
  
 _"Yes! Get ready for a rematch!"_  Roman called over to Logan.  
  
 _"I will best you in dueling as I bested you in wizard's chess,"_  Logan retorted.  
  
 _"Era Kastrati and Kai Stevens,"_  the professor called out.  
  
 _"Kai Stevens? I don't even know who that is,"_  Era whispered to the others.

 _"I think he's a 7th year,"_  Paige told her.  
  
 _"Well he better not get too sure of himself because he's facing a 6th year. He may just be surprised,"_  Era grinned.  
  
 _"Lauren Darvis and Patton Wright!"_  
  
 _"Lauren is Kai's girlfriend,"_  Elliott clarified at Patton's look of confusion at the unfamiliar name.  
  
 _"Paige Wilkins and Laura Steinberg!"_  
  
 _"Shane Miller and Patricia Forth!"_  
  
The pairings continued. Virgil's was near the end, because  _of course_  he had to sit in anticipation the entire time.  _"Virgil Thompson and Chelsea Turner."_

...why did he let Logan talk him into this?   
  
He tried to scan the room for the brunette, spotting her with a couple of other Ravenclaw girls across the room. She made eye contact with Virgil then looked away.  
  
 _"She probably feels guilty for publishing all of those lies about you,"_  Roman assured him.  
  
Lies that weren't really  _lies_ , depending on who you asked.  
  
Either way, Virgil would be forced to confront the girl whether he wanted to or not. He wasn't even sure what he'd say to her. He couldn't talk about Deceit directly or Deceit's curse would start flaring up.  
  
But he had a feeling that simply  _avoiding_  the subject wouldn't work either. 

Professor Goodwin read off a few more names, then addressed the group as a whole once more.  _"Alright, I would like you to go to your partner and stand a few feet apart from them. That is all I ask you to do at the moment. We are going to walk through a simulated duel before we actually duel. Mr. Dicax, would you be so kind as to join me at the front of the room?"_  
  
Virgil shot a sympathetic glance at his boyfriend. Logan appeared to be taking it in stride as he stood, shoulders squared, a few feet from Professor Goodwin at the front of the room.  
  
He was faring better than Virgil, who immediately tensed when he realized that in the time he'd watched Logan, Chelsea went from standing across the room to standing mere feet away from him.  
  
This was going to be a bumpy ride.


	18. Chapter 18

Virgil tried to focus as best as he could on what was happening at the front of the room. His heart was pounding and he wondered what he was going to  _do_  and how this was going to go.  
  
Professor Goodwin adopted a battle stance, something Logan soon mimicked. Ordinarily Virgil would be relieved that they had a live example they could work off of, but also nervous about how the whole thing would go.

Instead, he found that he kept glancing in Chelsea's direction, half expecting her to be staring back at him every time that he looked back. Instead, she stared resolutely at the front of the room, as if she was trying to pretend that Virgil wasn't even standing there.  
  
Huh.  
  
 _"First, I will have Mr. Dicax cast a spell toward me. Then, as he casts his spell, I will put up a shield charm in order to render Mr. Dicax's charm harmless,"_  Professor Goodwin explained.  _"Ready? Go!"_  
  
 _"Tarantellegra!"_  
  
 _"Protego!"_  
  
Professor Goodwin said something after this, but Virgil was having a hard time paying attention to what the professor was saying when his focus kept shifting to how Logan held himself as he stood in a battle pose.  
  
He recalled standing before Logan with his wand pointed at Logan, Logan adopting that pose against  _him_  as Dalibor possessed him, though doing his best to merely shield himself rather than attack Virgil, as he  _knew_  Virgil was not responsible for his own actions at that point...Virgil closed his eyes and took a few deep inhales and exhales before he opened them again.  
  
Virgil's grip on his wand tightened, and he heard Professor Goodwin say in a voice that sounded far away.  _"Now you guys may try!"_  
  
 _"Guess that's our cue."_  It was Chelsea's voice that fully anchored him to the world around him once more. Virgil glanced in Chelsea's direction, noting that she seemed almost  _nervous_  as well. Why on Earth would she be nervous? She was the one who wrote the article about him in the first place!  
  
"Guess it is," Virgil muttered. His voice sounded more gravelly than usual, and he cleared his throat in an attempt to remedy this.  
  
 _"Would you like to go first or shall I?"_  Chelsea asked him. Her tone was stiff, as if she were going through the motions but not particularly enjoying what she was doing - much like himself, but he hadn't expected that from  _Chelsea Turner_  of all people.  
  
"Uh..I can, I guess," Virgil shrugged. He might as well get it over with. The problem was, only one spell kept popping into his head. He knew he had an entirely  _catalog_  of spells that he'd practiced over the years at his disposal, yet only one pushed its way to the front of his mind and held it hostage.  
  
"Tarantellegra!" he incanted.  
  
 _"Protego!"_  Chelsea called out in response, casting an excellent shield charm.  _"Really? The exact charm the professor just used?"_  The corner of her mouth quirked upward at that.  
  
 _That_  was more like the Chelsea that he expected.  
  
"You think you can do any better?" he bit back. She probably could, but it felt nice to snark back at someone, to work some of his frustrations out - and given the article that Chelsea wrote, she was a more than worthy target. He even caught Roman smirking slightly out of the corner of his eye and to the side of him.  
  
 _"As a matter of fact, I do. Furnunculus!"_  she called out, brandishing her wand with purpose.  
  
"Protego!" Virgil cast immediately. He already had enough to worry about without adding boils to the mix.   
  
 _"A Dark Arts prodigy with a talent for Defense Against the Dark Arts? At least you're well rounded,"_  Chelsea observed.  
  
Virgil felt as if he'd been slapped hard across the face.  
  
 _Dark Arts prodigy?_  Did people still think that of him? The only time he'd taken it upon himself to research the Dark Arts was when he was trying to  _prevent_  something bad from happening. One couldn't very well keep themselves and their friends and family safe unless they understood what they were up against.  
  
And what little research he had done as of late, he'd been careful to undertake in areas where people wouldn't overhear and wouldn't talk. So what gave? Was Chelsea still basing all of her theories on rumors from the year before?  
  
 _"Come on. Come at me again,"_  Chelsea demanded, a haughty smirk on her features.  _"I want to see if your reputation holds up."_  
  
His reputation? "Impedimenta!" Virgil responded.  
  
Chelsea waved her wand without saying a word, yet still produced a shield charm.  
  
Oh. Wordless magic. For as much as Chelsea talked, one wouldn't think she would excel at a form of magic that required one to keep their mouth  _shut_.

Chelsea lifted her wand, and Virgil prepared to cast a shield charm in response to whatever she would send his way. But a spell never came in his direction. He briefly wondered if perhaps she'd cast a silent spell, but he felt no effects on him. It was as if they were just standing there.  
  
 _"The Muffliato Charm,"_  Chelsea explained when she caught Virgil's utterly bewildered expression.  _"I cast it around us so that no one can hear what we are saying."_  
  
That...did not help to alleviate Virgil's confusion  _at all_.  
  
"Why? We're supposed to be dueling each other, not..."  
  
 _"Because I wanted to talk to you without risking anyone overhearing. Wave your wand every once in a while and act like you're saying a spell. That way it'll look normal to anyone around us,"_ Chelsea explained, before doing just that - as if trying to set an example of what she wanted first before allowing him to do so.  
  
Virgil was so bewildered that he did exactly as Chelsea instructed, pretending to cast a shield charm around himself. "Why...why are you doing this?" he asked afterward, searching her face and body language for any further clues.  
  
The corners of Chelsea's mouth twitched upward into a wry grin.  _"Because I want the truth."_


	19. Chapter 19

The truth.  
  
Chelsea wanted to know the truth.  
  
The truth, something that Virgil  _physically could not give_.  
  
Virgil's throat felt dry, but he couldn't tell if it was Deceit's Curse or merely the anticipation.  
  
"The truth about what?" Virgil inquired, stalling for time.  _What on Earth was he going to do?_  
  
 _"Everything,"_  she responded, waving her wand and pretending to cast another hex in his direction.   
  
Virgil waved his wand in turn. "That's a big help. 'Everything' encompasses a lot of things," Virgil remarked with an eye roll and jabbed his wand forward as if he were actually casting a spell in her direction rather than just fantasizing about doing so.  
  
Chelsea waved her wand as if casting a shield charm.  _"Well, you and Deceit, mostly, but..."_  
  
Aaaaaaand there it started.  
  
"I..." he forced out.  _Merlin_  he hated this sensation. "don't know what you're t-talking about."  
  
 _"Are you and Deceit working together?"_  
  
Virgil tried his best to maintain a straight face, but he felt as if a hand was being wrapped around his throat. He could breathe, but barely, and he certainly couldn't get any words out. Nevertheless, he shook his head.  
  
Chelsea frowned, looking at him closely.  _"And even if you were, you couldn't_  say so  _could you?"_  
  
Virgil was utterly beside himself with this comment. It was almost as if she  _knew_...  
  
Chelsea let out a sigh.  _"Look. I know there's more to this story than meets the eye. I_  don't  _know what you're playing at, but I don't think you're working with Deceit. I saw how you acted every time that Deceit's name got brought up. I see it now too. It's like you have some sort of Tongue-Tying Curse on you, but a powerful one that effects more than just your tongue."_  
  
She...wasn't wrong.  
  
But Virgil wasn't entirely sure how she arrived at this conclusion. "H-How..."  
  
 _"How did I figure it all out?"_  Chelsea questioned.  _"Let's just say I have my sources. And before you ask,"_  she cut in, just as Virgil was opening his mouth to do just that,  _"I will not tell you who those sources are. A good journalist does not reveal sources that wish to remain anonymous."_  
  
...in Virgil's eyes, the jury was still out on whether Chelsea was actually a good journalist or not. The article concerning his potential involvement with Deceit felt like tabloid fodder, but then...he supposed it did explore a subject that some at Hogwarts were curious about and tried to get answers.  
  
And they weren't exactly  _lies_ , despite what his friends thought.  
  
She didn't figure it all out, though. She admitted as much. Virgil wasn't sure whether to be relieved or upset. This was the girl who published an incriminating article about him into a school paper. However, she was also the first to figure out that something was  _wrong_ , that someone or something was keeping Virgil from speaking at will.  
  
...and he'd be damned if he didn't  _need_  someone in his corner as far as that was concerned. "So wh-what are you...s-saying?" It was growing easier to talk, but many of his words still had a forced quality to them.  
  
 _"I'm saying that I want the truth,"_  Chelsea shrugged.  _"Make of that what you will,"_  she told him with a wink before raising her wand once more. The noise from the rest of the room came rushing back in.  
  
She'd cancelled the muffling charm, then.  _"Locomotor Wibbly!"_  she called out suddenly.  
  
Virgil was too busy taking in the sudden influx of noise that he reacted too late to Chelsea's spell. His legs immediately took on the consistency of jelly as he fell to the floor.   
  
 _"TIME'S UP!"_  Professor Goodwin called from the front of the room, once again utilizing an Amplifying Charm so that her voice carried throughout the large room.  
  
"Finite Incantatum," Virgil mumbled, pointing at his legs. He placed one in front of him and pressed down with it, testing its ability to hold weight. Once he determined that his legs were sturdy again, he pushed himself back up to his feet. He sent a glare in Chelsea's direction.  
  
 _"You all did well. We will be meeting at the same time and location next week. I will be placing you with new partners. We also hope to have some information about the upcoming dueling tournament we mentioned earlier by the time the next meeting rolls around. Enjoy the rest of your night!"_  With a wave of her wand as she pointed at her throat, Professor Goodwin presumably cancelled out the Amplifying Charm that she placed on her voice earlier.  
  
 _"I told you I would best you in dueling!"_  Roman proclaimed loud and proud. Virgil snickered. Clearly, Roman won his duel against Logan.  
  
Logan, on the other hand, rolled his eyes.  _"Yes, well, you may have won the battle but you will lose the war, I assure you."_  
  
 _"Guys, settle down, we're all friends here,"_  Patton mediated.  
  
 _"And here I thought this whole thing was over when I won back Gryffindor's honor in that chess game..."_  Era tsked exaggeratedly, shaking her head.  
  
 _"I don't know, I'm finding the whole thing entertaining,"_  Paige admitted with a small grin.  
  
 _"So, how were things with your new best friend? Didn't hear much from you two,"_  Elliott arched a brow.   
  
Virgil's stomach lurched a little at that. He knew the true reason they hadn't heard, of course, but he hoped it hadn't been too noticeable. Did Elliott figure it out?  
  
 _"Yeah, we were trying to listen in but it was too loud and too hectic to make much of anything out,"_  Shane added.  
  
 _"Hopefully next time we get to pick our own partners so we don't have to deal with this,"_  Elliott rolled their eyes.  
  
Virgil let out a sigh of relief. They didn't know, they attributed it to the rest of the ruckus in the room.  
  
"I don't know. It's hard to know what to make of her," Virgil admitted.  
  
Once again, this left Virgil with more questions than answers.


	20. Chapter 20

During a typical tutoring session with Astrit for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Virgil and Astrit usually reviewed subjects that Astrit discussed in a recent Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Virgil quickly learned that the fourth year wasn't  _bad_  at the subject, he just had a hard time catching up with where he needed to be. He would catch up on one subject then be behind on the next one. He needed these extra tutoring sessions to keep him up to date after the time he'd missed the year before.  
  
It should have not have surprised him that Astrit would come up to him one day with a request. Astrit  _did_  have an interest in doing well in Defense Against the Dark Arts, evident in how much effort he put into these tutoring sessions. This was another reason why Virgil wasn't certain he wanted to take on any more students - Not only was Astrit someone he was familiar with (and thus less nervous around, once they got over the initial awkwardness associated with what they'd been through the year before), but he knew Astrit cared enough to try to do better. Some of the students being tutored were clearly being  _forced_  into the tutoring. Logan, though frustrated at times, confessed that he actually somewhat enjoyed the challenge of trying to get to these more difficult students. It required that he utilize different methods to see which one would capture the difficult student's interest most, and he could go from there.  
  
Another reason to add to Virgil's growing list of why Logan ought to be a professor once he finished Hogwarts.   
  
"Would you be willing to teach me a spell?" Astrit asked him just after they went over hex deflection.  
  
Virgil blinked. Again, this was the first time that Astrit made an outright request like that, and it caught Virgil off guard. "Uh...guess it depends on what that spell is?" He wasn't about to agree to  _anything_  until he knew what he was agreeing to.  
  
"The Patronus Charm. Era was telling me about how hers is an Eagle and I've found myself wondering what mine is," Astrit confessed in a small-ish voice. "I know it's advanced magic, NEWT level, but...I want to give it a try."

The Patronus Charm. Astrit wanted Virgil to teach him the  _one_  charm that he had the most difficulty with himself. He couldn't help but chuckle a little at his luck.  
  
Astrit, unfortunately, took it the wrong way.  _"Nevermind, it's...I shouldn't have asked, I know I'm probably not ready..."_  
  
"Nononono," Virgil blurted out. "That's not...it's not that I don't want to teach you. It's that...it's a hard spell. There's a reason why it's usual left for NEWT level. People aren't always able to successfully cast it even at NEWT level, though it's a lot easier to cast when you're not facing down a threat than it is if you're standing in front of a dementor. I don't even want to think about what that would be like." A shiver went through Virgil at the thought.  
  
 _"That's all the more reason to practice though, isn't it?"_  Astrit pointed out.  
  
"Well yeah, but...you know what? Let's give it a shot," Virgil told Astrit, immediately hoping that he wouldn't come to regret it.   
  
Astrit did prove that he could fight off the Imperius Curse the year before, when he was only a third year. If any fourth year could handle it, it was this kid.  
  
Virgil was glad that they opted to bring their sessions to the abandoned classroom on the fourth floor. The library wasn't the best place to go for Defense Against the Dark Arts tutoring anyway, as it was a highly hands-on class. This was especially true for patronuses, however, which often took on the forms of wild animals.  
  
Virgil closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He thought back to the sleepover they had in this very room, a small smile coming across his face. "Expecto Patronum!" He chanted with a wave of his wand, opening his eyes in time to see a silvery cheetah burst forth.  
  
It hadn't come easy for him, and Virgil did not forget that. He'd been practicing regularly over the past several months. He considered it to be one of the most important pieces of Defense Against the Dark Arts he'd learned in his 6th year, and he wasn't about to let himself lapse at it, not when it took him so long to master in the first place.  
  
 _"Whoa,"_  Astrit watched the cheetah patronus eagerly.  _"You don't get to decide your patronus, do you?"_  Astrit turned to Virgil for confirmation of this.  
  
Virgil indeed nodded. "You don't get to decide. It's something intrinsic. Apparently it can change too, though I've never seen it...probably because all the patronuses that I've seen so far I saw for the first time a few months ago, and they haven't had any  _reason_  to change in that time," he shrugged.  
  
 _"A cheetah's a cool one, though. So is an eagle. I hope mine's cool,"_  Astrit commented, then held up his wand in front of his face.  _"How is it you do it again?"_  
  
"You think of the happiest memory that you can, and say 'Expecto Patronum'," Virgil instructed him.   
  
Astrit closed his eyes then gave his wand a wave.  _"Expecto Patronum!"_  he called out.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Astrit looked dejected, but Virgil hastily stepped in. "No one in my class was able to produce a Patronus on their first try," he assured the younger student.   
  
Astrit looked skeptical but tried again.  _"Expecto Patronum!"_  Still nothing.  
  
"Just keep trying," Virgil told him, attempting to sound encouraging as he did so. He didn't want his own apprehension to seep through into his tone.  
  
Astrit did as Virgil instructed...for four separate sessions. Virgil had to admire his patience and determination - Virgil, at the same stage, had been ready to give up, to surrender to the notion that he might never be able to cast a Patronus, that he was too prone to dark impulses, that the others were  _right_  about him...  
  
Virgil would later chide himself for missing out on subtle but important cues that  _perhaps_  Astrit wasn't taking it as easily as he was putting on.  
  
It was at the end of this fourth session that Astrit let out a grunt of frustration, stuffing his wand into his pocket sharply and made his way to the door.  
  
"Astrit?" Virgil raised an eyebrow.  
  
 _"I have to go to Quidditch practice,"_  Astrit told him. A little too quickly, if one asked Virgil, but before he could formulate a response Astrit was walking out the door.  
  
Virgil immediately went to find Roman, who confirmed exactly what Virgil suspected - There was no Quidditch practice tonight.  
  
Virgil let out a sigh, chewing on his thumbnail. It was then that the answer came to him. Who helped him when he struggled with casting a Patronus? Logan. Letting his hand fall back to his side, Virgil set off in search of the Ravenclaw.


	21. Chapter 21

_"You...attempted to teach Astrit the Patronus Charm,"_  Logan asked him.  
  
Virgil nodded, looking down at his feet.  
  
 _"That is a NEWT level spell,"_  the Ravenclaw continued.  
  
"Yeah, but Astrit wanted to give it a try..." Virgil was second-guessing whether he should have  _ever_  allowed that to happen in the first place.  
  
 _"Where is he currently located?"_  Logan asked him.  
  
"Your guess is as good as mine," Virgil responded, along with a half shrug. "He said he had to get going to Quidditch practice. So I asked Roman, and he confirmed what I'd suspected all along - There's no Quidditch practice tonight."  
  
 _"The first thing we need to do is locate Astrit. Then we can proceed from there,"_  Logan informed him.  
  
The two set off to locate Astrit. They attempted to search the castle high and low, but did not spot the younger student.  
  
"He's probably in the Gryffindor Common Room. We tried, we failed, time to go to sleep," Virgil muttered.  
  
 _"...it is two in the afternoon."_  
  
"And naps are a thing that exist, Lo," Virgil responded.  
  
 _"...wait,"_  Logan told him, holding out a hand.  _"If I'm not mistaken...I believe that I know where Astrit is currently located. Follow me."_  
  
"...wait, Lo...couldn't you at least  _tell_  me where we're going first?" Virgil called, setting off after Logan.  
  
But Logan wasn't listening. Virgil followed Logan outside. Comprehension soon dawned on Virgil. "The Quidditch pitch? You think he's at the Quidditch pitch?  
  
 _"I dont't just think so. I know so,"_  Logan retorted, pointing forward and up.  
  
...and, indeed, Astrit was zooming around the Quidditch pitch atop a broom.  
  
Virgil shuddered at the sight. "I don't get how they do that, it's so dangerous, and there's no referees or anyone around to break his fall like there would be at a Quidditch game...wait, are we going to have to get him down from there? Cause I'll do it if I have to, but the last time I sat on a broom was in my first year so I'm a bit rusty..."  
  
 _"I do not think that we will need to worry about that. He's descending back to the ground as we speak,"_  Logan observed. Virgil glanced back in the direction of Astrit and saw that he was indeed flying down to join them. Once he was at a proper height to do so, the fourth year dismounted his broom and held it at his side.  
  
"Quidditch practice?" Virgil arched an eyebrow.  
  
Astrit shrugged.  _"I didn't say it was with the entire team."_  
  
...a fair point, but Virgil still did not think that Astrit came out for Quidditch practice.  
  
 _"Virgil tells me that you are struggling with the Patronus Charm,"_  Logan remarked.  
  
Astrit shrugged.  _"Its not a big deal. I shouldn't have asked him to teach me now anyway. I'll try it again in my 6th year."_  
  
Astrit did such a good job of playing nonchalant that Virgil almost bought it.  _Almost_.

 _"Did Virgil inform you that he had difficulties casting his Patronus as well at first?"_  Logan inquired.  
  
Astrit nodded.  _"He did. But he still got it in the end. Plus he's a 6th year and he got an O on his OWLs in the subject. I'm doing so poorly that I need a tutor. There's a huge difference."_  
  
 _"I don't believe that there is,"_  Logan responded, and Astrit looked at him quizzically.  _"Much importance is placed on happy memories when it comes to the Patronus Charm, and you went through a period of great turmoil last year that I would imagine would make it difficult if not outright impossible to conjure such memories unimpeded at this point. Your grades suffer because of this, not because you have a lack of talent in the subject. I assure you, you have a talent at Defense Against the Dark Arts."_  
  
Astrit shrugged.  _"Maybe. I do want to improve. But it's hard to stay on top of everything."_  
  
Virgil decided to pull out the ace up his sleeve at last. What better time than now? "You know what else is taught in NEWT level? Fighting back against the Imperius Curse. There were plenty of sixth years who tried and failed. But you did that last year."  
  
 _"My...my...he was having me attack Era, I couldn't...I didn't...I still couldn't stop him from..."_

 _"When it counted, you were able to fight off the curse,"_  Logan insisted.   
  
"You...you saved me. You saved  _us_. If Dalibor were able to get that necklace into the cauldron..." Virgil shuddered to think what would happen. Dalibor's control over him seemed to cease the moment he lost contact with the necklace, but he strongly suspected that if that necklace fell into the potion contained within the cauldron, it would not have mattered that Dalibor lost his control over Virgil.  
  
He would have resurrected himself and likely killed them all.

Astrit shrugged.  
  
 _"If you would like, I could offer you some assistance? I was able to aid Virgil when he had difficulty casting a patronus,"_  Logan offered.  
  
Astrit shook his head.  _"No thanks."_  
  
 _"Are you certain? I really do feel that you could be capable of casting a patronus if given the proper chance,"_  Logan attempted to assure the Gryffindor.  
  
 _"Probably, but what's the rush? I...just heard you guys talking about what your patronuses were and got curious, but that's not a good reason to push myself harder than I can take. I've still got a lot to work through. I'm not giving up, I'm just...taking a break. I will come back to it later, though,"_  Astrit explained.  
  
Logan looked taken aback at this. He opened his mouth as if he were about to protest, then appeared to think better of it. After a moment or so of contemplation, he spoke once more.  _"That is rather mature of you. As long as you promise that you will not permanently give up on this endeavor, I suppose it is best to respect your wishes."_  
  
"Lemme know if you ever want us to show you again," Virgil chimed in. Astrit smiled.  
  
He respected Astrit's decision, and he understood where the Gryffindor was coming from.

So why did he still feel like he fell short of where he needed to be and let Astrit down?

 


	22. Chapter 22

Virgil had taken to avoiding his bed as of late if he could help it. He'd done something similar the year before as a result of Shane's cursing, but his reasoning the prior year was to rid himself of the sight of Shane's bed. In this case, Virgil was actively trying to avoid the place where he knew he might find more notes from Deceit (or whoever Deceit was using to convey the messages).  
  
He dreaded the moment when he would hear the telltale sound of paper crumpling beneath his as he lay back in his bed. When he did enter the dorm, he tried to do so when others were entering alongside him or were already present.

At least the prior year, he had the option of confiding to his friends if he needed to. This year he was literally  _cursed_  to silence.  
  
Somehow it seemed only fitting that they cover cursed objects next in Defense Against the Dark Arts. If only they'd had the lesson the prior year. If only they'd had a  _lot_  of these lessons the prior year. Then again, there was no guarantee that anything would have gone any different even if they had.  
  
Still, 'what ifs' were Virgil's specialty.

 _"It is only in rare cases that the objects themselves are inherently cursed. It is usually a witch or wizard that curses the item with a specific intent to generate ill effects on those who come into contact with the cursed item,"_  Professor Goodwin explained.  
  
Patton raised his hand high up into the air and Professor Goodwin indicated for him to speak.  _"Can the same idea apply to animals? Like, if, say..."_  
  
 _"Someone enchanted a snake to attack your brother?"_  Professor Goodwin finished for him, a sympathetic look on he face.  
  
Patton nodded.  
  
 _"I suppose it could be considered a similar principle, but in most cases it would take more power and skill to curse an animal or person directly in such a way as opposed to cursing the object to act as a vector of sorts."_  
  
Patton nodded once more, frowning as he considered what the professor was telling him.  
  
Virgil remained silent, as he did not want to risk Deceit's Curse taking effect. Besides, it allowed him the opportunity to take in what the others were saying.  
  
 _"Is it possible for the curses placed on objects to strengthen or weaken as time passes?"_  Elliott asked after whispering something to Shane. Shane looked strangely subdued, something Virgil attributed to his experiences with a cursed object the year before.  
  
 _"Once again, it would largely depend on the nature of the curse placed on said object and the magic used upon it. Some spells lose strength over time while others gain strength and still others remain the same,"_  Professor Goodwin responded.  
  
Logan was scribbling rapidly next to Virgil.

Don't want to miss a single detail?" Virgil observed in a hushed voice.  
  
 _"Indeed. You never know when such information may come in handy."_  Given their prior experience concerning cursed objects? Virgil was inclined to agree with Logan.  
  
 _"Why don't you ask Thompson? I'm sure he knows all about cursed objects,"_  the same Gryffindor boy who confronted him about taking Defense Against the Dark Arts at the beginning of the year called out. His comment was accompanied by a few snickers, the majority of them from the two Gryffindors sitting beside him. There were a few additional chuckles scattered around the room, however.  
  
Logan immediately froze, his pen hovering less than an inch above his paper as he clenched the pen in his hand tightly.  
  
Roman opened his mouth as if he were about to say something. Virgil beat him to it. "You're right. I do know about cursed objects," he answered in quiet voice that he was somehow able to keep even despite the way his hands trembled beneath his desk, away from their prying eyes.   
  
The boy folded his arms across his chest.  _"I knew it. Admit it, Thompson. You're..."_

"Friends with someone who was cursed, yes," Virgil responded. He knew that wasn't what the Gryffindor was about to say. But it was the  _truth_...or part of the truth, at least.  
  
And it was a truth that he could  _tell_  and he was going to embrace that opportunity.

 _"That's not what I..."_  
  
Professor Goodwin, either by coincidence or because she could tell that this held the potential to go south fast, cut the Gryffindor off.  
  
 _"Your homework for today is to do research on cursed objects and write an essay on a cursed object of your choosing and how you might go about remedying or removing the curse from said object. It is alright if you do not know the exact answer, but use the information available for you to attempt to come up with the best solution possible. You have until Friday. Class dismissed!"_

Virgil began to pack up his things, trying his best to ignore the Gryffindor from earlier. He turned to Logan and was about to signal to his boyfriend that he was ready to leave when he felt someone pull at his shoulder. He spun around at once and came face to face with the Gryffindor.  
  
 _"I know you know more than you're letting on. You were around for almost all of the cursings. Your days are numbered, Thompson,"_  the Gryffindor snarled.  _"My little sister Louise was cursed because of you and your brother and I won't rest until everyone responsible is in Azkaban where they belong."_    
  
He was  _Louise's_  brother? Virgil recalled Louise as the teammate of Astrit's who was cursed as they were walking back from Quidditch practice. It did give him a good reason to hold a grudge, but he was holding it against the wrong person.  
  
"We agree, then.  _He_  does belong in Azkaban," Virgil told Louise's brother.  
  
The Gryffindor scoffed and turned to leave, but had to get in one last parting shot before he retreated.  
  
 _"I know you had something to do with Astrit's disappearance too. The way you kept following him shortly before he disappeared, I'm surprised they didn't arrest you,"_  he called out.

Virgil watched as the Gryffindor and his buddies made their way out of the classroom. Then and only then did he finally allow his trembling legs to give way, and he fell back into his seat.


	23. Chapter 23

Virgil was still reeling from his encounter with Louise's brother. He didn't see much of Louise in the first place, so he suspected Astrit or Roman told her about what happened when he saw her waiting for him outside of the library as he was headed to the Great Hall with Logan.  
  
 _"Just so you know, I don't blame any of you for what happened to me,"_  she told Virgil and Logan, but it was obvious she was referring to Virgil.  
  
Virgil found himself doing research on cursed objects for  _class_  for once, which was an odd change of pace. Logan, meanwhile, stared down at the book in front of him.  _"Do you think I would get in trouble if I did my essay on horcruxes?"_  he asked Virgil.  
  
"Considering you had to look at a book I took from my dad's library and it was barely mentioned in any Hogwarts books? I'd say so," Virgil commented with a snort.  
  
 _"I figured as much. Still, I have been researching methods to destroy horcruxes as of late and it would be nice to transition that work into an actual school assignment."_  
  
"We don't even know where the necklace is. It may be destroyed by now," Virgil pointed out.  
  
 _"Perhaps, but even so, this information may still be of some import at a future date."_  
  
Virgil arched a brow. "Planning on going horcrux hunting, Lo? I didn't think there were that many around," he half-heatedly teased.

It frustrated Virgil, the recognition that  _so much_  of his life felt as though it was still controlled by Deceit. Deceit might not be present most of the time, but his reputation preceded him. Some of that was Virgil himself, admittedly - when he'd hung out with Deceit and the other Dark Sides, he'd said some pretty nasty things to others. He deserved the backlash he received for that and he knew it, as difficult as it was to cope with at times.  
  
But the fact that he was  _still_  being blamed for Deceit's crimes the year prior, despite there being no evidence of his involvement...  
  
Were Virgil not utterly terrified at the mere thought of all of the eyes in a room falling on him, he would have climbed on one of the tables in the Great Hall and proclaimed his innocence over and over again.  
  
Then, of course, there was Deceit's Curse, the one that constricted his vocal cords and rendered him mute whenever he tried to speak in detail of what Deceit was currently up to.  
  
Virgil couldn't even speak to an adult to see if there was something to be done about the situation he'd found himself in. Deceit made it impossible to seek help.  
  
When Virgil found another letter from Deceit, he was tempted to rip it into shreds and toss it in the trash. The recollection of his brother's threats stopped him. Deceit threatened to make  _others_ suffer if Virgil did not do exactly as he said. Virgil did not like their current arrangement, but if it guaranteed the safety of his friends and family...he would continue.

He reluctantly made his way to the edge of the Forbidden Forest, his hood pulled up over his head to allow him to blend into the darkness better.  
  
Deceit, per usual, arrived a bit later, donning a fancier cloak this time around.  
  
"Where'd you get the money to buy that? I wasn't aware that being a wanted criminal paid that well," Virgil snarked.  
  
Deceit rolled his eyes.  _"Because I don't have contacts that can help me out,"_  his tone was steeped deep in sarcasm.  
  
 _"We're about to enter stage 2 of our plan. Be proud, brother. You're going to be part of something bigger than you can imagine. We're taking the wizarding world back,"_  Deceit smiled.  
  
"...back?" Virgil arched a brow.  
  
 _"From the filth. Mudbloods, halfbreeds, they're everywhere. What better place to start than Hogwarts? Hogwarts is the future, after all."_  
  
"...are those the lies you're telling yourself to allow you to sleep better at night? That other witches, wizards, and beings are lesser than you because of the circumstances of their birth? If so, you're more delusional than I thought," Virgil growled.  
  
 _"Its not that they're lesser, just that they should keep to their own kind. It's better that way,"_ Deceit shrugged.  
  
"...wow, Linus really did a number on you, didn't he?" Virgil scoffed.  
  
 _"Excuse me?"_  Deceit snapped.  
  
"Linus. He's having you do his dirty work. This is what he wanted. That way he can continue working for the Ministry and still advance his goals, and you can take the fall for him. Stop me when I'm wrong, Lionel," Virgil hissed.  
  
 _"You're wrong Virgil. I'm doing this for me, because it is the right thing to do. Period,"_  he snarled.  
  
Virgil let out a strained sounding snicker. "Is that so? Too bad. And here I thought you could think for yourself."  
  
Deceit growled...then  _smiled sweetly_.  _"Oh, but I very much can, Virgil. It's you who cannot think for yourself."_  As opposed to the venom that Virgil expected from his brother, his tone dripped molasses.  
  
It wasn't right, and alarm bells were going off in Virgil's head. He'd been in fight or flight mode since coming out here, and prior to this moment he'd been in fight mode.  
  
Now he was strongly considering  _flight_.  
  
"I can think for myself, and I think I want to leave," Virgil started to back away. He wasn't about to turn his back to Deceit, not right at this moment.

 _"I don't think I want you to do that,"_ Deceit told him, the smirk on his face growing in size.

"So? You're not the boss of me," Virgil narrowed his eyes.

 _"No? Well, I think we should change that,"_ Deceit was practically grinning from ear to ear at this point.

"Change?" Virgil responded in puzzlement, though a fresh wave of terror rushed over him at the expression on Deceit's face.

Deceit retrieved his wand in a fluid motion and pointed it directly at Virgil.  _"Imperio!"_

 


	24. Chapter 24

Something was wrong. Something was  _very very_  wrong.   
  
But Virgil couldn't quite focus on what. Everyone and anyone could be a threat. His mind whirled as he was unable to keep any of his thoughts straight.   
  
His brother was speaking to him,  _telling_  him something. Even in his addled state, he could tell that it was not something that he wanted to hear, and his hands flew to his ears.  
  
Someone tried to pull his hands away. He screamed at them, trying to tell them to stop, but he wasn't sure if his words made any sense. It took so much energy to say or  _do_  anything...and yet, as he felt someone touching him again, he struck out as hard as he could.  
  
 _"...Virge..."_  That was Logan's voice.   
  
 _"Some......ong,"_  another familiar voice spoke, though Virgil wasn't sure what she was trying to say.  
  
 _"'lax,"_  came a young man's voice. Patton, his mind helpfully supplied. Logan and Patton. Two names that brought a smile to his face. Virgil reached out for them.  
  
He felt a hand on his head and immediately jerked away. "NO!" He screamed, then struck out once more. There was a blinding flash of red light, and everything faded to black.

Virgil still felt groggy when awareness returned to him and he opened his eyes, only to snap them shut again and cover his eyes with his hand at the bright light that greeted him.  
  
The Hospital Wing?  
  
 _"Virgil! You're awake!"_  Patton shouted, throwing his arms around Virgil as he pushed himself into a seated position.  
  
"Whoa, Pat, I..." he glanced at the others.  
  
 _"Glad to have you with us again, Virgil,"_  Logan responded with a half smile that Virgil returned.  
  
 _"What were you doing sneaking out of the castle like that at night anyway? Hardly seemed like a good night for a nightly stroll,"_  Roman frowned.  
  
Logan and Roman weren't the only two present. Era, Paige, and Astrit were there as well.   
  
 _"Elliott and Shane are waiting outside,"_  Paige explained, answering a question that Virgil did not even realize that he had.  
  
 _"There's a limit of six visitors to a bed at a time,"_  Astrit added.

Virgil was grateful for the rule, if he had to be honest. As nice as it was to see his friends gathered at his bedside, it was more than a little overwhelming.  
  
Especially when he wasn't sure  _why_  he was in the Hospital Wing, or how long he'd been there. He realized for the first time that he felt a bit sore, but a quick inspection of himself showed no evidence of any injuries that would land him in the Hospital Wing.  
  
"I'm not hurt? Not badly anyway," Virgil told the others, voicing his concern.  
  
 _"Well you do have a few lacerations and a large contusion on your cheek, but your recovery should be hasty. Your injuries are not why you are here,"_  Logan informed Virgil as the Slytherin rubbed one cheek and then the other, wincing a little as he touched his left cheek.   
  
 _"Yep, that would be the contusion,"_  Era remarked with a wry smirk.  
  
"How did I end up here?" Virgil blinked at them in confusion.  
  
 _"We found you on the edge of the Forbidden Forest in an extremely addled state,"_  Logan reached out and squeezed Virgil's hand. Virgil's first instinct was to jerk away, but he fought against it.  
  
 _"We tried to help, and, well...you went ballistic,"_  Roman continued.  _"You nearly punched Patton's lights out a couple of times. I had to step in and use a stunning spell on you."_  
  
Sheesh.  
  
 _"What were you doing out there anyway?"_  Era repeated Roman's earlier question.   
  
 _"Yeah, at night and at the edge of the Forbidden Forest? No wonder you had a panic attack,"_  Paige shuddered.  
  
 _"That wasn't a panic attack,"_  Logan murmured quietly.  
  
 _"What are you talking about, Specs, of course it was! He panicked and attacked us! A panic attack!"_  Roman blurted out.  
  
 _"...aside from the fact that panic attacks most often do not result in the one who is doing the panicking attacking anyone we have seen this in Virgil once before,"_  Logan continued.  
  
Patton's eyes widened in recognition.  _"Defense Against the Dark Arts,"_  he murmured.  
  
 _"You reacted this way when Professor Goodwin cast the Imperius Curse on you when we were learning how to battle it,"_  Era's eyes, too, were wide.  
  
 _"...so you're saying someone cast an Unforgivable Curse on Virgil and it went wrong?"_  Paige gaped.  
  
 _"Yes, which means that Virgil met someone on the edge of the Forbidden Forest,"_  Logan said slowly.  
  
 _"How do you know that he met someone?"_  Roman countered.  
  
 _"Someone had to cast the Imperius Curse on him, and I don't think it was an Acromantula,"_  Era snorted, then shot an apologetic look at Patton when she saw him shudder.  
  
 _"S-Spiders..."_  Patton remarked in a shaky voice.  
  
 _"I made those observations, yes, but I also found this letter in Virgil's pocket,"_  Logan retrieved a folded up piece of paper from his own pocket and held it out for the others to read. Virgil leaned over to see what it said, his stomach lurching when he read the contents.  
  
 _Hello Darkness,  
  
Meet me at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, it is of utmost importance. You know what will happen if you do not.  
  
\- An Old Friend_  
  
Logan's eyes met Virgil's, and Virgil shrunk back a little.  _"You need to tell us who this person is that you were meeting."_  
  
Virgil opened his mouth to speak, only for his eyes to widen as he shut his mouth once more, chewing on his lip. "I...I can't tell you," he said at last.  
  
 _"You have to! It's the only way they can be brought to justice!"_  Roman proclaimed.  
  
Virgil shook his head rapidly. "No, you don't get it. I don't know who sent that letter. I don't recall ever reading it before. I..."   
  
He didn't know, truly, and something told him that he was  _supposed to_. He glanced up worriedly at the others, who stared back at him in varying degrees of apprehension.


	25. Chapter 25

Virgil was released from the Hospital Wing the next morning, the Head Healer wanting to keep him overnight on account of how late he'd come to the Hospital Wing in the first place. They'd worked out that Virgil was subject to a failed Imperius Curse as well as a successful Memory Charm.  
  
The majority of his memories were intact thankfully, but his attacker was skilled enough to remove all hints as to his or her identity from Virgil's memory.

 _"Nothing? Are you sure there's absolutely nothing?"_  Elliott leaned in close to him once they made it back to the Slytherin Common Room.  
  
Virgil shook his head. "Absolutely nothing, other than this note," he held up the note that Logan found in his pocket and showed them in the Hospital Wing. Elliott and Shane both poured over the note, as if Virgil and the others might have missed a clue earlier that would solve the entire mystery.  
  
 _"That's messed up, man,"_  Shane commented with a frown, handing the note back to Virgil. From the way he and Elliott glanced at each other, it was clear they hadn't made any more progress than Virgil and the others had earlier.  
  
"I'm gonna go take a nap, guys. I'll be back in a few hours." He made it back to his bed, feeling slightly apprehensive about laying down there, though he wasn't entirely sure  _why_. Shrugging, he slipped under the covers and closed his eyes. It didn't take long before he fell asleep - He was able to get  _some_  sleep in the Hospital Wing the night before, but it wasn't particularly restful because Virgil liked it to be dark and quiet when he slept, and the ambient noises and lights in the Hospital Wing didn't make for such an environment.  
  
It was the weekend, so at least he didn't have classes to tend to. He had a feeling he would have been excused from classes for the day anyway, after spending a night in the Hospital Wing. That was how it worked for himself and others in the past, anyway.  
  
When he finally made his way to the Slytherin Common Room proper after a few hours' proper rest, he noted that neither Shane nor Elliott were around. Not that he expected them to sit around and wait for him all day, that wouldn't be fair to them, but he had to admit that he was a tad disappointed. It meant that he'd have to venture out of the Slytherin Common Room himself, and given that he'd apparently been  _attacked_  the night before by someone or  _something_? The idea of venturing out alone was daunting. Then again, he supposed that he would prefer to be attacked alone than to have one of his friends get caught up in an attack.  
  
Over the next few days, he eased back into his daily life well enough, though there were a few residual oddities that he and his friends noticed as time passed.  
  
 _"I'm still grateful to whoever sent that anti-venom potion to St. Mungo's to help Toby. You can tell he's still a little weak, but he's recovered really well,"_  Patton commented with a smile one day.  
  
Virgil stopped in the middle of their walk down the hall, frowning.  
  
 _"You okay, Virge?"_  Patton tilted his head slightly.  
  
"Someone sent in an anti-venom to Toby? I always wondered how they were finally able to treat him at St. Mungos," he remarked, then shrugged. "Glad to hear he's doing better at any rate!"  
  
It was Patton's turn to look at him with a bewildered expression.  _"You...you knew that, Virgil. I...I told you when it happened..."_  
  
Virgil's blood turned to ice. Why wouldn't he remember that? Was it a side effect of the Memory Charm, or was it something more sinister, something more  _targeted_?   
  
He brought it up to Logan the next time he saw him, his boyfriend frowning immediately upon hearing what Virgil was telling him.  _"I must admit, it is not entirely out of the realm of possibility that a poorly performed Memory Charm might wipe out more memories than just the ones it specifically targeted, though given that you have noticed no other memories addled with prior to this point other than the ones concerning that note and your trip out to the Forbidden Forest...we must consider the possibility that your recollection of the circumstances behind Toby's recovery and the aforementioned tampered memories are somehow linked."_  
  
"That's...exactly what I was afraid of," Virgil frowned, running a hand through his hair before letting said arm fall back to his side.   
  
 _"Yes, well...I believe that you may be right to be afraid,"_  Logan murmured.  
  
Virgil let out a strained chuckle. "That's...that's not exactly helping, Logan."  
  
 _"Good, because it was not meant to help. I do not like to see you suffer, Virgil, but...I must confess, I am worried too. Someone cast two different spells upon you that were explicitly cast with the purpose of disrupting your mind. This is someone who is entirely willing to go to extremes to get what they want, and...that does not sit well with me. Others may disagree with me, but I fully believe that one's mind is their most powerful weapon - and in doing this, someone managed to at least partially disarm your most powerful weapon against them,"_  Logan confessed, looking more troubled than Virgil had ever seen him, with the possible exception of...  
  
"Logan, you don't think  _Dalibor Petrović_ had something to do with this, do you?" The only other time Virgil saw Logan look this disconcerted was when he was dueling Virgil-controlled-by-Dalibor the year before. It was impossible  _not_  to draw the parallels...and he wasn't alone, judging by the expression that came over Logan's features.  
  
 _"It is a possibility that I have considered, Virgil. We certainly know that he is a dangerous man, if he was willing and able to manufacture a horcrux for his use..."_  
  
By the conversation's end, Virgil was left feeling worse than before. It was not Logan's fault, mind - Logan simply voiced the very thoughts that were troubling Virgil prior to their conversation. This either meant that the magic user who cast their spell on Virgil was careless enough to involve memories of Virgil's that were  _not_  associated with their presence - dangerous because it meant that whoever it was didn't care enough to leave benign memories intact and instead simply regarded them as collateral...or Toby's attack and/or recovery had something to do with the person who did this to him in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops...they seem to be going down the wrong path, don't they? =)


	26. Chapter 26

"Expecto Patronum!" Virgil shouted as he thought of the moment his mother told him they would be moving into their own place the year before. A silvery cheetah burst forth and began to roam the empty common room, empty save for Storm, who sat atop Shane's bed and eyed the cheetah warily.  
  
"It's alright Storm, it's just a Patronus. See? It won't hurt you," Virgil managed a small smile as the cheetah came close and Storm sniffed it and pawed at it. Once she determined that it wasn't a threat, she tilted her head and let out an almost questioning meow.  
  
It was not uncommon for Virgil to practice casting his Patronus - After how much difficulty he had casting it for so long, coupled with Astrit's struggles, it was not a skill that Virgil particularly wanted to lose. Not only that, but something about the Patronus' presence every time he cast it felt  _warm_  and  _calming_. Perhaps it was merely the influence of the happy memory that he had to use to cast it, or perhaps it was the Patronus itself. Either way, he genuinely felt  _better_  around his Patronus, and he would take what small blessings he could have.  
  
Storm's presence helped too, of course. The feline had a good read on him and was able to tell when he needed someone and would curl up next to him. If he wanted to be left alone, she kept a safe distance, but still kept a look out.  
  
The door to the dorm room opened and Shane peeked his head inside. The silvery glow of Virgil's Patronus immediately faded, and Shane blinked.  _"I thought I saw...anyway, are you coming to the Quidditch game?"_  
  
Virgil was fairly certain that Shane spotted the glow that the Patronus emitted just before fading, but not the Patronus itself. Like Virgil himself, Virgil's Patronus had a habit of being notoriously skittish, and often faded when others were around. This, of course, might prove problematic if he were ever facing off against a Dementor, but so long as he was only practicing in his dorm it suited Virgil and his Patronus just fine.  
  
Virgil moved to his feet from his cross-legged position on his bed. He wasn't all that into Quidditch, but all of the others were going and he did not want to be a spoilsport. It was too  _loud_  and too  _crowded_...but hopefully he and his friends would get a nice seat a fair distance away from others in the crowd and they would at least be able to hear each other well enough to talk.  
  
Those who wouldn't be on the field proper, that is. Astrit and Roman were both on the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and Gryffindor was playing Ravenclaw.   
  
As such, when Virgil met up with his friends, they were wearing an assorted medley of props of house pride - even if they did not belong to said houses. In fact, in most cases they  _did not_ , as Era was the only Gryffindor not on the Quidditch team in their friend group and Logan was the only Ravenclaw in their friend group  _period_.  
  
Logan was merely decked out in his usual Ravenclaw robes, despite it being a weekend. When questioned on this, he shrugged.  _"This is about as much house pride as you'll catch me espousing. Ravenclaw is my house and I will defend its honor. I have little interest in Quidditch, but if it will help us to attain the House Cup this year...I do hope Ravenclaw wins this match."_  
  
 _"They won't, but I like your attempt at house spirit, Logan,"_  Era teased. She was wearing a Gryffindor scarf as well as a hat with a lion embroidered on it.  
  
 _"Did you make that yourself?"_  Paige asked eagerly, eyeing the hat.  
  
Era blushed a little but nodded. Virgil recalled the embroidery supplies that Astrit gave Era for her birthday and realized that she'd put them to good use after all.  
  
 _"Oooh, can you make me one with a badger on it?"_  Patton asked excitedly. He, too, was decked out in Gryffindor gear in support of his boyfriend. Paige had a raven painted on one cheek and a lion painted on the other.  
  
 _"Couldn't decide?"_  Shane grinned. He'd done a spell to turn his hair blue, clearly supporting Ravenclaw for this bout.  
  
Paige shook her head.  _"I didn't want to decide. I have friends in both houses. So I decided to support them both."_  
  
 _"...that's a respectable position to take. I think I may do that as well,"_  Elliott proclaimed, waving their wand and doing something similar.  
  
Paige beamed in delight.  _"Welcome to the party!"_  
  
Virgil, on the other hand, looked hesitant to join  _anyone_. He, like Logan, wasn't really going for the game itself but rather to support friends. However, his boyfriend was a Ravenclaw, and Ravenclaw was the first house that the Sorting Hat suggested to him. He halfheartedly held up his wand and gave it a wave, adding blue highlights to his hair and a blue tinge to his black eyeliner.  
  
Despite Logan's lack of interest in Quidditch overall, he seemed flattered nonetheless by Virgil's show of support for Ravenclaw.  
  
The other reason Virgil wasn't so sure he wanted to attend the Quidditch game was that it felt  _dangerous_. Virgil hadn't stepped outside much since his attack, and as the group walked out to the Quidditch match, he caught himself glancing this way and that as if someone was going to come out from the shadows and complete the job at any moment - or take out one of his friends instead.  
  
 _"They wouldn't attack us right now,"_  Era said with such confidence that Virgil nearly did a double take.  
  
"They wouldn't?" Virgil couldn't understand how she was so certain about that.  
  
 _"They'd be stupid to do it. It's not just us, but other students are heading out to the pitch, and it's broad daylight. If they care enough about not being caught that they cast a memory charm on you, they're not going to attack where there would be dozens, possibly even hundreds of witnesses,"_  though there was an unmistakably sardonic tone in her voice, the corners of her mouth twitched upward into a smile. She was trying to comfort him, and he'd be lying if he said it wasn't working. 

 _"Guys, hurry up! We won't get good seats if we don't hurry!"_ Patton called back to them, and Virgil and Era hurried after the rest of their friends. Virgil was in much higher spirits than he was before, but that didn't make the ill feelings disappear entirely. Still, he would take the distraction and relish it while he had the chance to do so.


	27. Chapter 27

Virgil was relieved that they were able to find seats in the stands in an area where they did not feel as if they were sardines packed in a can next to other students.  
  
He watched as the players took flight, keeping a close eye on Astrit and Roman. He might prefer to cheer for Ravenclaw house on account of Logan, but Roman and Astrit were his friends and he wanted to see them perform well as well, even if he had a hard time following the game at times.

Roman, as sturdily built as he was, played as one of the two Beaters, while Astrit was small and nibble - perfect for a Seeker. He understood their roles well enough, he just had a hard time following all of the action between all of the players zooming about as well as the Quaffle, Bludgers, and Snitch.  
  
To be fair, the Snitch was  _meant_  to be hard to spot, even for the Seekers.  
  
Virgil glanced over at Logan, biting back a chuckle when he saw that Logan pulled out a book and was reading, casually glancing up every once in a while to check on the status of the game.  
  
"Gee Logan, you'd think you could at least  _try_  to pretend to be interested," Virgil teased.  
  
Logan glanced up at Virgil and gave a shrug.  _"I do hope for Ravenclaw's victory, but that's about the extent of my enthusiasm. If my presence as a 'fan', so to speak, of Ravenclaw helps Ravenclaw to perform better, I am willing to do my part."_  
  
Virgil glanced back at the field just in time to see something strange going on. One of the players was flying erratically, zooming back and forth and nearly crashing into another player. Virgil elbowed Logan at once.  
  
 _"Ouch! Virgil, I fail to see why it was necessary to..."_  
  
"Logan, look," Virgil pointed to the player in question, who continued to dart around the pitch. Logan immediately frowned, furrowing his brow.  
  
 _"That is incredibly peculiar, it looks almost as if he has been confunded..."_  
  
 _"He's headed this way!"_  someone nearby screamed, and Virgil's gaze shifted from Logan back out to the pitch. Indeed, the player on the broom was now flying straight for the stands at a high speed with no sign of slowing down.  
  
The crash felt almost as if it happened in slow motion. Patton screamed, his hand flying to his mouth. Virgil realized with a jolt that they didn't know the identity of the player who flew into the stands, just that it was a Gryffindor player...what if it was Roman or Astrit? The realization seemed to hit Era just as it hit Virgil, and she immediately went running in the direction of the chaos. Virgil took off after her, as did the others. They paused when they were close enough to see the player's face, shock evident on all of their features.  
  
It was not Roman, nor was it Astrit. The face of the young man that flew into the stands, however, was still familiar to all of them.  
  
It was the Gryffindor boy who insisted on continuously confronting Virgil about his supposed connections to the Dark Arts, to what happened to his sister, Louise, the year before.  
  
Two members of the same family, seriously injured a year apart from one another?  
  
This wasn't a magical mishap, was it?  
  
 _"Attention students. If you are uninjured, you are to travel with your prefect back to the castle and proceed to your Common Room to await further instruction. If you are injured, stay where you are and we will tend to your injuries shortly,"_  the Headmistress' voice boomed through the area.  
  
Magical mishap or something more sinister, there were people, people in  _plural_ , injured.  
  
Virgil shared hugs with Logan, Patton, Paige, and Era, then set off for the Slytherin Common Room alongside Elliott and Shane. None of the three talked during their entire journey there, whether out of fear they would get in trouble for doing so, or because none of them knew what to say.  
  
It wasn't until they reached the Slytherin Common Room and took seats around one of the many tables scattered within the room that any of the three dared to say anything.  
  
 _"What do you think it was?"_  Shane asked the other two at last.  
  
 _"I don't think it was an accident, I'll tell you that much,"_  Elliott responded.  _"That guy may be a jerk, but I've seen him play before. He's never flown like that before. Someone had to have cursed him or tampered with his broom or something."_  
  
Exactly what Virgil was hoping  _not_  to hear, because who would do such a thing?  
  
 _"His sister was cursed by Deceit last year. Louise? I wonder if it had something to do with Deceit,"_ Shane glanced at the other two apprehensively.  
  
"Deceit's on the run, isn't he? Why would he come back to Hogwarts? There's not anything for him here," Virgil pointed out, less out of certainty and more because it was what he  _wanted_  to believe.  
  
 _"To finish the job he started? I mean it's another non-pureblood hurt by a cursed object, even if it's not cursed in the same way the objects last year were,"_  Elliott countered.  
  
 _"Don't forget he went after purebloods too,"_  Shane pointed out, an involuntary shudder going through him. Virgil frowned as he, too, was besieged by memories of the year prior.  
  
"Guys, I..." he cleared his throat. "I think I'm going to head upstairs. I'm feeling kind of funny."  
  
Elliott's eyes widened at once.  _"Then we should come with you, to hear what you might have to say..."_  they began to move to their feet.  
  
Virgil realized at once what was going through Elliott's mind and let out a small chuckle. "Not  _that_ kind of funny. Just...like there's something bugging my throat."  
  
 _"Oh,"_  Shane sighed, disappointment seeping into his tone.  _"Hope you feel better then."_  
  
Virgil waved to both of them then headed for his bed. He spotted Storm in the corner of the room, apparently chasing after something...Virgil could only assume it was someone's rat or something similar. "Storm, behave," he told the Bombay, letting out a chuckle as he lay back on his bed.  
  
A loud hiss erupted from the corner of the room, followed by...another hiss?  
  
Virgil sat up and looked closer. Storm was in a defensive pose, standing face to face with a  _snake_. Virgil's stomach lurched at the sight, until he saw the way that the snake flinched away from the cat as she pawed at it.  
  
"Behave, Storm," Virgil repeated again, though immediately went to fetch a book that he knew one of his dormmates had in their position - a book about snakes. After a period of searching (and keeping a safe distance from the snake in case it turned out to be dangerous - as well as keeping his wand pointed at the snake in case it lashed out at  _Storm_ ), Virgil was finally able to positively identify the snake as a yellow corn snake - a large constrictor with no venom.  
  
Nevertheless, as Virgil approached the snake, he held out his wand for it first, waiting to see if it would lash out. Once it did not, Virgil extended his arm in front of the snake. When it did not bite him, the corners of Virgil's mouth turned up into a smile. "See, Storm? It's not so bad," he told the cat with a small smile. The cat still eyed the snake warily as she kept a safe distance from him, but allowed Virgil to do what he wanted.  
  
"How did you get up here? Are you one of Dylan's?" Dylan being the classmate of his who often came with different pet snakes every year. It was something that bothered Virgil at first, until Dylan assured him that all of the snakes were well-researched and that none of them were venomous.  
  
Virgil wasn't sure why, but he took to this snake immediately. There was also something oddly familiar about this snake, something that felt like it should be at the tip of his tongue, yet remained just out of reach. Perhaps the way it flinched from Storm's advances reminded him of himself - the assumption that because it was a  _snake_  it was dangerous, much like many assumed that  _he_  was dangerous.   
  
The snake was a kindred spirit, in a way. He wanted to make sure that it was well cared for and safe, much as he wished those same things for himself.  
  
He curled up in bed, Storm on one side of him and the snake curling up beside his bed on the other side. Virgil chuckled. It appeared as though the snake had already taken a liking to him. If this wasn't Dylan's snake, Virgil might have to consider taking on another pet of his own. Storm might have a hard time with it, as cats and snakes tended not to get along well, but he was certain that she would grow used to it with time.  
  
As Virgil and Storm curled up and began to fall asleep, they missed the yellow gleam in the snake's eyes, along with it the hint that perhaps Storm was right, and not all was as it seemed...


	28. Chapter 28

As it turned out? The snake in question was not Dylan's. That meant it was fair game.  
  
 _"What sort of snake is it anyway?"_  Shane asked him, poking the the snake with his finger.  _"Its not poisonous is it? One stay at St. Mungo's is enough for me for a while."_  
  
 _"Venomous,"_  Elliott corrected.  _"Snakes are venomous, not poisonous. Unless you plan on eating it,"_  they added with a slight smirk.  
  
 _"...I'll pass,"_  Shane made a face and poked the snake again.  _"Did you name it?"_  
  
"I just now found out it wasn't one of Dylan's. Naming it wasn't the first thing on my priority list," Virgil responded.  
  
 _"We'll help you name it then!"_  Shane smiled.  
  
Elliott tilted their head.  _"It looks a bit like a Sir Slithers to me,"_  they frowned.

"...Sir Slithers?" Virgil snorted.  
  
 _"Sir Slithers, The Knight Of Slytherin!"_  Shane announced.  
  
 _"...okay I see what you mean,"_  Elliott frowned and stroked their chin.  
  
 _"William!"_  Shane blurted out, causing both Elliott and Virgil to stare.  
  
 _"...who names a snake William, Shane?"_  Elliott said at last.  
  
 _"Not just William, William Snakespeare!"_  Shane announced, a triumphant lilt to his voice.  
  
Elliott gaped at him. Virgil burst out laughing. "William Snakespeare it is."  
  
 _"Wait, what? You're actually going to name it William Snakespeare?"_  Elliott stared at him as if he had two heads.  
  
"Why not? Patton'll get a kick out of it, and Logan will appreciate the literature reference. It's worth it just to see how they react." Virgil would pretend that was all it was...but secretly he found the pun hilarious as well.

It wasn't until Virgil met up with Era and Roman the next day in Defense Against the Dark Arts that they discovered the true extent of Louise's brother's injuries.  
  
 _"He had several broken bones,"_  Era murmured quietly.  _"He'll have to spend a few nights in the Hospital Wing, but since it was only physical injuries and not spell damage he shouldn't have to go to St. Mungo's."_  
  
Virgil noticed that the injured boy's friends were shooting glares in his direction. Virgil let out a scoff. "With the way they're looking at me, you'd think they blame  _me_  for what happened to their friend."  
  
 _"Well, actually..."_  Roman began hesitantly, only to be cut off by Virgil.  
  
"...seriously? You know what, nevermind. I can't deal with this right now." Virgil squeezed his nose between his eyes.   
  
Though he tried to place it out of his mind, knowing full well that he had an alibi that would prove his innocence that all of his friends who did  _not_  participate in the Quidditch game could vouch for, it still weighed on him. How could it not?  
  
It was halfway through the class that Virgil realized he was so distracted that he'd started to work on the wrong assignment. Turning his page to the correct assignment, Virgil hastily set to work on it.  
  
After class, Virgil was able to ask Era a few more questions, since she seemed to know the most about the situation as a whole. "They announced other injuries at the game...do you know anything about those?"  
  
Era nodded.  _"Mostly just cuts and scrapes. Grazing injuries, nothing serious. One girl fell from the stands and broke her arms, but the player himself by far got the worst of it."_  
  
Well that was a relief at least.

It wasn't good that  _anyone_  was injured, but at least the injuries were less severe than he'd initially feared.  
  
It was announced at the meal that night that Quidditch practices and games would be cancelled until further notice, until they could determine that the rest of the brooms at the school were safe (Virgil would protest that it was  _never_  safe to fly around on a broomstick fifty feet in the air, but he knew that he was in the minority where that was concerned).   
  
Some took the news harder than others.  _"What am I going to dooooooo?"_  Roman groaned as they walked out of the Great Hall.  _"Quidditch is my life!"_  
  
 _"I'm quite certain that you have many other hobbies aside from Quidditch,"_  Logan pointed out.  _"It may come as a disappointment to you, but I am certain that you will find other activities with which to fill your time while you wait."_  
  
Roman stared at Logan for a moment, before screwing his face up once again.  _"But Quidditch is my liiiiiiiiiiife!"_  
  
Logan let out a sigh and Virgil shook his head.  
  
 _"Oooh, Virgil, have you already told the others about William Snakespeare?"_  Shane piped up suddenly, in an apparently attempt to lighten the mood.  
  
 _"William...Snakespeare?"_  Logan looked so puzzled it was almost endearing.  _"Do you mean William Shakespeare, the Muggle poet and playwright?"_  
  
Elliott rolled their eyes.  _"No, he means William Snakespeare. Virgil's new snake. I told you guys it was a ridiculous name."_  
  
 _"That's...that's actually quite a clever trick with the name?"_  Logan admitted after a moment's reluctance.  
  
Virgil glanced over at Patton, expecting a smile and perhaps a pun of his own. What he didn't expect was the concerned expression that took over Patton's features instead.  
  
"...Pat?" Virgil shifted a little where he stood. He usually had some idea why others were concerned, but it felt like he was missing a  _lot_  lately, and it was making him uncomfortable. He wasn't sure if this was one of those instances, though he couldn't help but worry it was.  
  
 _"You...you have a snake? Where did you find the snake?"_  Patton asked in a quiet voice,  _too quiet_  if you asked Virgil.  
  
"It was in my dorm, Storm was trying to go after it. Wasn't the first time she's gone after things and probably won't be the last time, but I looked it up and it looks like he's a harmless corn snake. Not venomous," Virgil felt the need to clarify this, as he would be worried about the snake's venom levels were he in Patton's shoes.  
  
Patton still looked unnerved.  _"I just...we still don't know what snake attacked Toby and..."_  
  
Oh. Comprehension struck Virgil like a punch to the face.  
  
"Patton, I...we shouldn't have even brought up the snake, I'm sorry," he told his best friend at once.  
  
Patton gave a halfhearted shrug.  _"Nah, bring up the snake all you want, it's just...what if it's the same snake that attacked Toby?"_  
  
 _"Virgil did mention that he researched the snake and learned that it was a corn snake. Corn snakes do not possess venom,"_  Logan pointed out.  
  
 _"I just...be careful, okay? I don't want anything to happen to anyone else that I care about,"_ Patton told them at last.   
  
As much as they wanted to? Between the tampered brooms and Virgil's attack, it felt as if they were right back where they started the year before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you need a bit of levity to go with this chapter...a reminder that a certain someone just got renamed 'William Snakespeare' =P


	29. Chapter 29

Virgil was on his way to a tutoring session with Astrit when he was approached. It was the first time in some time that he'd traveled any fair distance within the castle on his own - and Virgil strongly suspected that the  _alone_  part played a strong role in the timing of this confrontation.  
  
When they first crossed paths, Virgil treated it as a mistake - though even then, he suspected otherwise. Muttering an apology, he attempted to sidestep the Gryffindor boy...to no avail.  
  
Flight wasn't an option, then. He immediately slipped his hands into his pockets and wrapped his hand around the handle of his wand, ready to draw at a moment's notice.  
  
 _"Thompson,"_  the young man greeted him, and Virgil could still see the faint markings of the injuries that he obtained at the Quidditch match.  
  
What happened to him was terrible, but at the moment Virgil was having a hard time mustering up any compassion for him. After all, he looked as if he were perfectly willing to send Virgil to the Hospital Wing at a moment's notice...and he wasn't alone.  
  
 _"First your brother curses my sister, then you curse my broom. You and your family really are pieces of work,"_ the boy sneered, full of righteous fury...toward the wrong person. _  
  
"_ W-Why would I curse your broom?" Virgil hoped that no one noticed his slight stutter at the beginning of his statement. "I don't care about Quidditch. It wasn't a game against Slytherin. I have no reason to curse you other than the fact that you keep blaming me for things I didn't do, and as much as that annoys me it doesn't warrant cursing you. Now let me go, I have somewhere to be." Virgil sure hoped he sounded a lot braver than he felt. _  
  
 _"Who do you plan on cursing this time, Thompson?"_  _This time it was one of the Gryffindor boy's friends who taunted him.  
 _  
_"I don't," Virgil snapped back, annoyance temporarily outweighing his apprehension. "How many times do I have to say that?"  
 _  
 _"Expelliarmus!"_  _the Gryffindor shouted.  _  
  
_"Protego!" Even for all his preparedness, Virgil only just barely managed to cast the shield charm in time. _  
  
 _"I should make you touch a cursed object like my sister did. She still has scars from that. Always will. Its what you and your brother dese-"_    
  
_"STOP COMPARING ME TO HIM! SILENCIO!" Virgil snarled and pointed his wand at the Gryffindor boy with purpose. The boy opened his mouth to say something, only for nothing to come out. Virgil stood ready to deliver another spell when he heard Professor Foley call out to them. _  
  
 _"Dueling in the hallways! 5 points each from Gryffindor, and 5 points from Slytherin!"_  _he announced, keeping a stern eye on all four boys. _  
  
 _"Consider yourself lucky, Thompson,"__  the Gryffindor growled before he and his friends headed off.

 _"I know they approached you first, buy still, try to keep a better handle on your temper, alright? Slytherin already had a bad enough reputation,"_  Professor Foley told him with a sigh before waving him on.  
  
His temper.

After insisting that he wasn't planning on cursing anyone, he'd come close to doing  _just that_  to the Gryffindor boy. Not only that but he  _relished_  the thought of getting back at the Gryffindor who'd been harassing him since the beginning of the school year. He'd gotten upset over the comparisons to Deceit...and then went and did something that could be  _likened_  to Deceit. Deceit, too, hurt people without a second thought - what Virgil very nearly did himself.  
  
Was he really better than his brother after all?  
  
 _"You look distressed,"_  Logan pointed out when Virgil met up with him after dinner.  
  
"Don't I always?" Virgil bit back with a snort.  
  
 _"You do not_  always  _look distressed, but I recognize what you are attempting to do.  You wish to avoid my question,"_  Logan folded his arms across his chest.  
  
Why did Logan have to be so  _smart_  sometimes? Usually Virgil loved Logan for it, but sometimes... _sometimes_...  
  
 _"I was informed that you had an encounter with those boys from Defense Against the Dark Arts in the hallway prior to your tutoring sessions with Astrit,"_  Logan cut straight to the point, because  _of course he did_.  
  
"...yeah. They accused me of cursing the broom a few days ago. They tried disarming me and then I used a silencing charm. We didn't get too far before Professor Foley stepped in and took house points away from each of us," Virgil explained.  
  
 _"Ah yes, I can see why that would be a source of distress to you. Do you wish to discuss what happened in greater detail?"_  Logan tilted his head slightly, looking at Virgil expectantly.  
  
Did he? Part of him did and part of him did not. "I..." He ran a hand over his hair. "He compared me to Deceit and I...if Professor Foley hadn't stepped in when he did..." Virgil let out a shaky sigh.  
  
Logan's face took on a more contemplative expression at this.  _"I see. You worry that the duel would have gone farther."_  
  
"Exactly," Virgil confirmed.  
  
 _"It likely would have,"_  Logan observed with a shrug, much to Virgil's chagrin.  
  
"That...doesn't really make me feel better."  
  
 _"It does not?"_  Logan looked puzzled at this, clearly not having expected such a response from Virgil.  
  
"No, because I could have  _hurt_  him. I  _wanted to_  hurt him, L," Virgil chewed at his bottom lip.  
  
 _"Of course you did. Most would lash out in some way after repeated accusations such as the ones you have endured. Also, the 'duel', if one could call it that, was three against one. That is hardly fair, one could argue that you were merely defending yourself,"_  Logan assured him.  
  
"But I wanted to  _hurt him_ , Logan..."  
  
 _"That does not make you a bad person, Virgil. Is that what you need to hear from me? Because I have no trouble saying it. It is, in fact, the truth. I have known you for long enough that I can assure you of that,"_  Logan told him, reaching out and giving his hand a small squeeze.  
  
It wasn't one of the bear hugs that he'd come to expect from Patton, but it was comforting in its own way, and was so integral to Virgil and Logan's relationship that it had a similar effect to one of the aforementioned hugs. Virgil looked down at Logan's hand and gave it a squeeze, the slightest of smiles making its way onto his own face.  
  
He still had his doubts, but he did feel better.


	30. Chapter 30

Virgil still made no headway on definitely determining the identity of his attacker. They had theories, but that was all they were - Theories. Dalibor Petrović was a popular theory among their friend group, but how would he have managed such a thing? Why would Virgil have agreed to meet him, knowing what a danger it was.

Why would Virgil have agreed to meet  _anyone_ , knowing how dangerous it could be? That he did not know the thought process that led him out to the edge of the Forbidden Forest frequently left him with a cold chill up his spine. 

Nothing drove this point home more than the day he was walking out of Defense Against the Dark Arts alongside the others. His bag burst open, spilling its contents onto the ground. Virgil cursed under his breath and immediately bent down to start gathering his things.

_"Language!"_  Patton warned.

Logan, on the other hand, shook his head.  _"Reparo,"_  he recited, the bag mending itself.  _"When was the last time you cleaned your bag, Virgil? It's a wonder that you can find anything. Perhaps this would make for a good opportunity to discard some of the older or lesser used items that you carry around?"_

"I mean...I guess," Virgil shrugged. He shoved most of his papers into one of his textbooks and threw it back in his bag.

_"Or we can see if you actually need to keep any of those papers!"_  Logan blurted out, retrieving the book back from the bag and beginning to sort through it.

_"This is a leftover essay from the second week of term one, I do not believe that you will find any use for this now,"_ Logan announced.

"I mean he could,"  _Paige pointed out._ "I use old papers to study from."

__"Why do you keep all of your papers anyway?"_  _Roman asked as he eyed the small stack. __  
  
Virgil fidgeted with the edge of his sleeve. "What if the professor loses your grade and you've thrown the paper away? This way you can prove you still did it."

__"...that is an incredibly unlikely scenario, Virgil,"_  _Logan pointed out with a frown. __  
  
"Its happened before," Virgil informed him.

" _ _It has. Divination, right?"__  Era rolled her eyes. " _ _That was a fun day. Mine was one of the papers she lost."__

__"Still, that was one scenario, continuing to hoard all of your papers because one incident appeared to validate your fears is an example of a confirmation bias..."_ _

"Logan?"

__"Yes Virgil?"_  
_  
"Can we just focus on picking up my things?" _  
_  
Logan jolted a little.  _ _"Oh right,"__  he murmured, then continued helping Virgil sort out his items.

There were several crumpled up pieces of paper. Patton frowned and picked one up out of curiosity, his eyes widening as he read it.

_"Patton? Are you alright?"_  Roman asked him. Patton jolted and nearly dropped the paper in his hand.

_"Yeah, I'm fine,"_  Patton hastily responded, then held out the note in question.  _"You guys should probably read this, though."_

Virgil frowned and took the note from Patton. 

_Hello Darkness,_

Meet me at the edge of the Forbidden Forest Thursday night. I believe the next phase of our plan is complete.

\- An Old Friend

"The next phase of our plan?" Virgil wondered out loud.

_"That's not the only one either,"_  Patton revealed as he unraveled several folded up slips of paper with varying notes all addressed to 'Darkness' from 'An Old Friend'.

Virgil stared down at the slips with growing apprehension as he read through each one. He'd clearly met with his attacker more than once.  _Several_  times, by the looks of the notes. 

Virgil could not recall any of them.

_"Have you received any more notes from this 'Old Friend' as they call themselves?"_  Elliott asked with a frown.

Virgil shook his head. "Nothing since I went to the hospital wing. Unless they modified my memory after those too, and all of these meetings were after the one you found me at." That made for a haunting thought.

_"Or you're just pretending that you don't recall any of this,"_  Roman muttered darkly.

"...dude, what?"

_"This is all getting to be a bit too suspicious. I'm beginning to suspect that Chelsea Turner may have been right about you all along,"_  Roman said with a glare.

_"Roman, this is Virgil we're talking about!"_  Patton protested. 

_"Yes, and I'm beginning to suspect that the Virgil we know is not the real Virgil at all,"_  Roman narrowed his eyes before turning and heading off down the hall, leaving the rest of the group awestruck behind him.

Patton broke the silence a moment later.  _"I'm sorry Virge. I'll go talk to him, see if I can get him to see sense,"_  he set off in the same direction as Roman, concern etched on his features.

Something in Virgil's chest felt empty as he watched Patton's retreating back. He thought they were all past this, that all of his friends trusted him.

_"Don't worry Virgil. I'm not entirely sure what has gotten into Roman, but I know that you would not work willingly with your attacker, not if they are the sort to use the Imperius Curse on someone,"_  Logan assured him.

"I don't know, maybe he's right," Virgil responded, barely louder than a whisper.

_"Come again?"_  Logan leaned in closer. Virgil was unsure whether Logan hadn't heard him or merely did not believe what he said, but Virgil repeated himself nevertheless.

"Maybe he's right," Virgil in a louder voice this time. "Maybe I  _am_  working with them. Or was. I mean, I don't remember meeting with anyone, so I  _don't know_  what my motives were."

_"Virgil, what you are suggesting would be completely out of character for you..."_  Paige murmured in a quiet voice.  _"Short of being possessed by that creep again, I don't see you purposely getting involved with anyone who would casually use an Unforgivable Curse like that."_

Shane and Elliott both nodded in agreement.

"I don't know, it's just...hard to keep track of  _anything_  anymore, I apparently had a bunch of meetings with this person and I didn't know about  _any of them_  and..."

_"Calm down and listen to me for a moment,"_  a new yet familiar voice entered the fray.

"Easier said than done," Virgil snapped before he could stop himself, then glanced in curiosity to see who the source of the voice was.

_"Why should we listen to you? You're the one who wrote that op-ed about Virgil, aren't you? You're the reason this is happening in the first place!"_  Elliott folded their arms across their chest in a defensive stance.

Just as Virgil thought - Chelsea Turner of all people had joined them.

_"You should listen to me because..."_  Chelsea began, but was cut off by Logan. 

_"Yes, I fail to see where anything you have to say would be of value..."_  Logan narrowed his eyes. Virgil could not help but feel a surge of affection and gratitude for Logan despite the situation as a whole.

_"Let's try hearing her out,"_  Era cut in.  _"If what she has to say is more petty gossip we can dismiss her, but why not hear her out? What harm could it cause?"_

_"Well, she could always write another article full of blatant falsehoods, this time about all of us as opposed to just Virgil..."_  Logan muttered with a roll of his eyes.

Chelsea threw her hands in the air.  _"I get it, you guys are mad at me! None of that is important right now because your friend is not your friend!"_

Logan further narrowed his eyes.  _"Of course we are angry with you, and we are justified in our...wait a minute, what did you just say?"_

_"That's what I've been trying to tell you this whole time, if you would just listen! Your friend is an imposter!"_


	31. Chapter 31

"...what do you mean our friend is an impostor?" Virgil stared at the Ravenclaw journalist, skeptical expression on his face. It wasn't as if Chelsea had proven herself particularly trustworthy in the past.   
  
 _"I mean exactly that - Your friend is an impostor. And since you seem like you need another friendly reminder - Your other friend is with him. That means that your other friend may be in_ danger _,_ " Chelsea emphasized.  
  
 _"Hold on a moment,"_  Logan said, holding up a hand as if to accentuate his point.  _"How do we know that you do not plan on luring us into a trap?"_  
  
 _"Logan! You know me better than that!"_  Chelsea protested, placing her hands on her hips.  
  
 _"Yes, I thought I did. Then you wrote a particularly nasty op-ed about my boyfriend without checking the validity of the assertions made within the article,"_  Logan retorted.  
  
Chelsea glanced down the hall, shifting a little where she stood, then looked back at the others.  _"...ugh, I just...I'm sorry, alright? Believe it or not, I wasn't trying to hurt anyone. At least not anyone innocent."_  
  
"...so you truly  _did_  believe I was working with Deceit when you published that article," Virgil sighed, then glanced over at Logan. "See? She thought I was working with Deceit." Then he turned to Paige. "You do know I used to go around being an ass to people with them, right? Deceit and our other friends, the Dark Sides. So why is it so hard for you to believe that I might be the bad guy here? It's not like I haven't been in the past." Virgil let out a derisive snort.   
  
 _"And I'm the bad guy right now,"_  Chelsea responded, her arms now folded across her chest.  _"Yes, you heard me - I'm admitting I made a mistake. I shouldn't have written that article about you. I thought that I was coming from a justified place, but I did not properly vet my sources and your reputation suffered for it."_  
  
Virgil opened his mouth to speak, but Logan beat him to the punch.  _"I may be willing to give you a second chance...if you agree to one condition."_  
  
 _"...I'm not sure if I want to know, but go ahead anyway,"_  Chelsea responded.  
  
 _"You will publish a retraction of that article, admitting to what you told us just now."_  
  
Chelsea's eyes widened.  _"But...that may...my reputation as a journalist..."_  
  
It was Logan's turn to fold his arms across his chest.  _"Which is more important to you...integrity and truth, or your reputation? If your answer is the former, you are a true journalist. If your answer is the latter...I regret to inform you that you are nothing better than a common gossip."_  
  
Chelsea looked stricken at those words, but nevertheless took a deep breath to compose herself and extended her hand forward.  _"You have a deal, Dicax."_  
  
 _"Pleasure doing business with you, Turner,"_  Logan retorted, one corner of his mouth twisting upward into the slightest hint of a half-smirk.  
  
"Guys, I know this  _seems_  important, but we  _kinda_  have a bigger issue here? Remember?" Virgil arched an eyebrow.  
  
 _"Yes, I would put 'rescue mission' fairly high on the priority list myself,"_  Era chimed in.

he seven of them - Virgil, Logan, Era, Paige, Elliott, Shane, and now Chelsea - set off in the direction they saw Patton and Roman walking in.  
  
Paige, in the meantime, moved closer to Virgil.  _"You're not a bad guy,"_  she insisted.  
  
Virgil let out a derisive snort. "Tell that to all the people I was a jerk to because I thought it was a cool thing at the time."  
  
 _"If you don't mind me cutting in - actually, even if you do mind, I want to cut in anyway because this needs to be said- I don't think Paige is trying to absolve you of blame for that,"_  Era argued.

"She just said I wasn't a bad guy," Virgil responded.   
  
 _"Because you aren't? There's a big difference between doing something crappy and being a crappy person. Everyone does crappy things sometimes. But you don't insist that certain groups do not deserve to have certain rights or even_  live  _because they do not fit your standards. That is a bad person. You are not a bad person,"_  Era asserted.  
  
It was hard to argue with her when she put it that way. He'd done bad things in the past, and this in no way absolved him of blame for those things...but he was at least attempting to better himself. He was still snarky and still irritable at times, but he was far from the snippy boy who doubled down on people's insecurities and twisted them into his weapons of choice out of fear that they would do the  _same_  to  _him_ , so why not beat them to the punch?

Logan opted to split the group into smaller groups so that they could cover more ground in their search. They knew the general direction Roman and Patton ventured off in, but there were several additional possibilities from there.  
  
Virgil and Logan were in one group, Chelsea, Elliott, and Shane in another, and Paige and Era in a third group.

Virgil glanced over at Logan. "Do you really think it's a good idea splitting us up like this?"  
  
Logan nodded.  _"This was the option and ensure we could cover the most ground."_  
  
"Yeah, but is it  _safe_?" Virgil persisted. Logan paused and turned back to look at him.  
  
 _"Not 100% so, but there is a reason why I suggested we operate in groups of two or three as opposed to all taking separate paths. Rather like something out of Scooby Doo."_  
  
"...what is Scooby Doo? If it's a Muggle reference I probably won't get it, remember? Pureblood?" Virgil gestured to himself.

 _"Ah yes, it is a Muggle cartoon where a group of teenagers bands together and solves mysteries alongside their talking canine companion,"_  Logan explained.  
  
"...you had me until you got to the talking dog," Virgil snorted.  
  
 _"Yes, well, there are several odd creatures that speak within the wizarding world, but nothing quite like Scooby Doo."_  
  
Virgil chuckled and shook his head. "I'll have to check it out some time if I get the opportunity."

There was a sound, barely audible, around the corner. Virgil jolted immediately, retrieving his wand with one hand and holding his other arm in front of Logan protectively.  
  
Roman stepped out of the shadows, brandishing his own wand and shooting a wry smirk in their direction.  _"I was wondering how long it would take you to get here. I assume you want Patton? Let's see how successful you are in a duel against me."_


	32. Chapter 32

Virgil clutched his wand tighter within his grasp. He had to remind himself that this was not Roman, merely someone posing as him. That left him to wonder not only where Patton was, but where the  _real_  Roman was being kept. Unless...  
  
_No._  He would try not to even think along those lines, not until he had more information.  
  
_"Expelliarmus!"_  Roman shouted, very nearly succeeding in his effort to disarm the distracted Virgil.  
  
"Protego!" Virgil raised his wand at once. "Incarcerous!"  
  
Roman was able to successfully dodge the spell without even casting a counter spell of his own. Virgil grit his teeth together. He didn't expect this to be easy, but Patton's life was potentially on the line.

"Where is Patton? Tell me  _now_  or I'll..."   
  
_"Or you'll what, Virgil? Kill me? I'd like to see you try,"_  Roman hissed back.  _"Bombarda!"_  
  
"Protego!" Virgil shouted. "Flipendo!"

Roman stumbled backward and growled at Virgil.  _"Diffindo!"_  
  
The duel continued, Virgil and Roman each getting in the occasional hit but usually able to block each other's attacks. Logan watched it unfold with a concerned expression that soon morphed into a contemplative one.  
  
_"Why don't you use the Cruciatus Curse on me? I know you want to,"_  Roman sneered.  
  
_"Expelliarmus!"_  Logan called out, catching Virgil's and Roman's wands as they flew into his hands.  
  
"LOGAN what are you..." Virgil gaped in horror at his boyfriend.  
  
_"You two would not listen any other way,"_  Logan replied.  
  
"BUT HE'S DANGEROUS!" Virgil pointed to Roman.  
  
_"BUT HE'S DANGEROUS!"_  Roman pointed to Virgil.  
  
"Wait...what?" Virgil blinked.   
  
_"How am I dangerous? I'm protecting Patton from the likes of you!"_  Roman looked absolutely outraged as he pointed at Virgil.  
  
"Me? We came here to  _rescue_  Patton!" Virgil hissed back.  
  
_"Rescue him? He came up to me near tears, speaking of how you tried to curse him and he feared for his life! We should never have invited you into our friend group!"_  Roman's eyes blazed with fire.  
  
Virgil felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach. Why would Patton  _say_ something like that? Unless Roman was lying and trying to get to him. If that was his goal, he was doing a fine job of it.  
  
Logan's eyes blew the widest the others' had ever seen them.  _"Virgil..."_  he murmured.

 _"Logan, not you too..."_  Roman huffed. Virgil ground his teeth together and took a step forward. Roman could go after Virgil all that he wanted, but Virgil wasn't  _about_ to let him go after Logan.  
  
_"Roman, Virgil never attacked Patton,"_  Logan stated, his gaze shifting over to Roman.  
  
Roman stared back in confusion.  _"But Patton said..."_ Roman was a good actor, but this didn't seem like an act. Roman had plenty of opportunity to catch them off guard and attack or even  <i>kill</i> them by now, but he hadn't. Instead, he was talking with them.  
  
The same realization that struck Logan hit Virgil like a speeding train. "Roman is not the impostor."

Virgil wasn't sure whether that made him feel better or worse. It was a relief that they were not speaking with an impostor, but that meant that Roman...Roman believed that  _he_ hurt Patton. Roman, one of his most ardent defenders when it came to Chelsea's article. Roman had  _truly believed_ that he could be capable of something like those letters were suggesting (and maybe Roman was right, maybe he  _was_ ), that contrary to what Era and Paige may have insisted on the way over, he was a bad person after all...

 _"Impostor? Of course I am not an impostor! Where would you get an absurd idea like that?"_ Roman blurted out, pulling Virgil from his thought spiral and placing him squarely back in the otherwise abandoned corridor.

 _"Chelsea Turner,"_ Logan explained.

Roman blinked.  _"Why would Chelsea Turner think that I am an impostor?"_

"Well you  _did_  come after us when we first approached you," Virgil retorted.

 _"Because_ you _attacked Patton,"_ Roman snarled back.

 _"For the last time, no one attacked Patton! You may ask anyone who was present! You stormed off, then Patton ventured after you, seeking to talk some sense into you,"_   Logan informed Roman, leveling a glare in the Gryffindor's direction.  _"It would appear that he failed if your behavior is any indication."_

 _"Excuse me, I am merely trying to stand up for my boyfriend's honor! He_ _was utterly terrified!"_  

"Guys?" Virgil tried to interject.

 _"And I am trying to stand up for_ my _boyfriend's honor. He would never do such a thing to Patton! Patton is his best friend, and you should know that by now!"_

_"You should know that I would never attack anyone without good reason, and..."_

"GUYS!" Virgil said louder, clearing his throat afterward. He was still caught off guard by Logan's words in his defense. The situation as a whole was a mess, and Virgil was trying to stave off wave after wave of panic, but he could not deny feeling _comforted_ that Logan referred to his defense of Virgil as 'standing up for his boyfriend's honor'. 

But there were more pressing matters at hand, matters that Logan and Roman seemed unaware of. Matters that desperately needed to be addressed before things got even worse. "I've figured out what's going on. Something is rotten here, and it's not Roman or I, or even the rotten fish that they had to dispose of in the kitchens. It's  _Patton_." 

 _"How dare you bring Patton into this!"_ Roman roared.  _"He did nothing to deserve..."_

 _"An attack that never happened? I would agree Roman, he did not,"_ Logan stepped in, much to Virgil's relief.

 _"...are you absolutely certain that nothing happened to Patton? Nothing that might have occurred when you and the others were not looking? When Patton and Virgil were on their own, perhaps?"_ Roman's expression was almost desperate as he took in Logan's face, as if searching it for any hints that may suggest that what Logan was saying wasn't true.

 _"There was never a moment for such a thing to occur. As I said before, Patton hurried after you immediately in an attempt to talk some sense into you,"_ Logan explained.

Roman moved his mouth as if to say something, but no words came out. His gaze drifted downward.  _"Then that means.."_

"Patton was the impostor," Virgil supplied in a hushed tone. He knew it to be the case, but that did not make it any less difficulty to vocalize.

Roman glanced back at Virgil and Logan, growing horror on his face as the situation grew more and more clear to the Gryffindor.  _"Then that means that the real Patton,_ our _Patton..."_

Virgil took in a deep breath to steel himself for what he was about to say  next. "He may be in danger."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'msorrypleasedon'thurtme


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a hard one to write, I'm still not sure if I'm pleased with the results, but...I hope it's decent enough? X_X Also, I edited this because I made a major oopsie when posting it for the first time that LITERALLY GAVE AWAY THE END OF THE CHAPTER WTF MANDEE.

 

 "When was the last time you saw Patton?" Virgil turned to Roman at once.

 _W-Which Patton, the real Patton or the...the..."_  It was clear that Roman was still struggling to cope with the information that he just received. They  _all_  were, though Roman was having the hardest time of it.

 _"The doppleganger, preferably. Finding the doppleganger entails that we find the real Patton as well, as the doppleganger likely possesses the knowledge of where the real Patton is currently located,"_  Logan explained, then turned to Virgil.  _"Well? Am I correct in that assessment?"_

Virgil nodded, letting out a weary sigh. "You are, but we don't even know where to begin..."

Roman shifted uncomfortably where he stood.  _"I...left him where he was, telling him that I would protect him from any threat that would come his way. Come hell or high water, I would ensure that he was safe."_

"Me, in other words," Virgil swallowed past the growing lump in his throat. "You would protect him from  _me_."

Roman opened his mouth as if he were about to argue, but Logan spoke before he had a chance to.  _"Now is not the time to argue about such diverting subjects."_

Virgil and Roman still looked uncomfortable, but recognized that a shared love one might be in danger and that they might have limited time to act.

 _"Now, Roman, where did your last interaction with Patton take place?"_  Logan questioned.

 _"We were near the restroom on the second floor,"_  Roman responded.  _"It's been at least fifteen minutes, though, he could be anywhere in the castle at this point..."_

"That's a horrifying thought. Huh, usually I'm the one who pops up with those," Virgil commented dryly. Nevertheless, the three hastily began to move down the hall. This did not put a stop to their conversation, however.

 _"Where are the others?"_  Roman asked suddenly.

 _"We split off into three teams to search for you and Patton,"_  Logan supplied helpfully.

 _"Then is it possible that Patton...or rather his doppleganger...has encountered one of the other two groups by this point?"_  A fresh wave of panic rolled over Virgil at the thought, and he hastened his speed. Patton wasn't the only one in potential danger at this point - every single one of his friends aside from Roman and Logan fell within this category.

 _"Petrificus Totalus!"_  someone screamed, and Roman tumbled over.

Virgil and Logan retrieved their wands at once and looked in the direction of the voice. Era and Paige were running toward them, wands drawn.

 _"Roman was right behind you! Didn't you guys see that?"_  Era blurted out, looking confusedly from Logan and Virgil to Roman, then to Logan and Virgil again.

Oh, right. Era and Paige were still under the impression that Roman was an impostor.

 _"We're missing something, aren't we?"_  Paige asked with an arched eyebrow, slowly connecting the dots.

"Yup," Virgil responded.

 _"We discovered that Roman is not the impostor Chelsea was referring to,"_  Logan explained.  _"Patton is."_

 _"Patton?!"_  Paige's eyes blew wide open.  _"For how long? Were we in class with the wrong Patton all along? Did it happen while Patton was going after Roman?"_

 _"I have questions myself, but Detective Paige here beat me to the punch,"_  Era remarked.  _"I do have another question though. How did Chelsea even know that one of them was an impostor? And did she know the impostor was Patton as well, or did she, too, think it was Roman?"_

Virgil, in the meantime, was eyeing Roman. "You know, I'd use the counter spell on him, but he's a lot more  _calm_  this way..."

Roman moved the only part of himself that he could by narrowing his eyes at Virgil. Virgil managed a chuckle. "I'm kidding Roman, I'm kidding. Finite Incantatum," he said, waving his wand.

Roman immediately climbed back to his feet and dusted himself off.

 _"You are not even that dirty, Roman,"_  Logan told him with an arched brow.

"Have either of you seen the other three? Or Patton for that matter?" Virgil asked Era and Paige, trying to get back on track.

Era shot a bewildered expression at Virgil.  _"No, I thought you knew where Patton was. You're the ones who told us he was an impostor."_

Logan shook his head.  _"Roman was the last to see Patton. We were able to deduce that Patton was an impostor based on what the false Patton said to Roman."_

 _"Which was?"_  Paige looked from Logan to Roman.

 _"He told me that Virgil attacked him, so I attacked Virgil,"_  Roman stated in a quiet voice, much more quiet than any of them were used to hearing from Roman.

 _"But Virgil didn't..."_  Paige started to protest.

 _"No, and I realize that now. Logan told me what happened, that...that Patton's doppleganger was feeding me lies and I was falling for them hook, line, and sinker."_  There was unmistakable shame in Roman's voice, and this admission was followed by an uncomfortable silence. Before anyone could interrupt said silence, however, they heard a scream.

 _"That sounded like...Shane?"_  Era asked as if uncertain.

Virgil nodded, recognizing that he was the one closest to Elliott and Shane out of their entire friend group.

 _"The sound came from this direction. Let's go,"_  Logan motioned for them to follow him. Virgil stuck close by, his wand at the ready.

They came upon Shane's supine form first. He was laying on his back, unseeing eyes staring at the ceiling. Virgil's stomach lurched. Logan immediately crouched down and felt at Shane's neck.  _"It's faint, but it's there. His pulse,"_  Logan told them.

 _"Well well, it's so nice of you to join us. I was just having a nice discussion with your friends. Except the one boy you probably encountered on your way here...he tried attacking me, so of course I couldn't stand for that. The other two, though...they make for lovely conversation partners."_  Virgil's gaze fell on 'Patton'...the Patton that he  _knew_  wasn't Patton. 

Elliott and Chelsea didn't look very capable of carrying on a conversation either. Elliott looked barely conscious, and while Chelsea was in better shape  _physically_ , she wore a vacant smile on her face and waved casually at them as if she had no idea the danger that she was in.

In fact, Virgil strongly suspected that she  _didn't_.  _"What did you do to them?"_  Logan asked, stepping forward with his eyes narrowed. 

 _"Oh, just enough to keep the two of them complaint. A Cruciatus Curse here, a Confunding Charm there...and of course a Binding Charm to make sure that they don't escape in the meantime,"_ 'Patton' explained with a twirl of his wand.

 _"Alright, game's up. We know you're not Patton. Patton would never do something like this,"_  Paige called out, raising her wand in the doppleganger's direction.

 _"Oh? He would not? You'd be amazing at what you can trick someone to do with just the right nudge,"_  'Patton' cooed.

 _"WHERE IS MY BOYFRIEND?!"_  Roman growled.  _"Bombar-"_

 _"I'm right here, Roman! I've been here all along!"_  'Patton' told him cheerily. 

 _"No, you're not. You're not Patton,"_  Roman glared. 

 _"Enough games, DECEIT,"_  Logan hissed.  _"Revelio!"_

The spell struck Patton. Patton's form began to shift...but the figure that took the place of Patton was not that of Deceit at all. In fact, the figure looked rather like...

 _"Phillip?"_  Roman's hand flew over his mouth with an audible clap.

 _"Hello, brother,"_ the young man that stood in Patton's place said with a grin.  _"You just made our job a lot easier, so thank you."_

  _"But if you're here, then where is Deceit?"_ Logan hissed.

 _"He hopes to retrieve something valuable from his trip here,"_ Phillip said with a shrug.

 _"Something valuable? What does he hope to retrieve that's valuable?"_ Era asked with a raised eyebrow.

 _"Oh, I don't know, why don't you ask the person who's been meeting with him several times over the past few months?"_ Phillip asked, staring directly at Virgil as he spoke.


	34. Chapter 34

Virgil stared at the ground, unable to meet the eyes of any of his friends.   
  
He knew they'd want information from him, information that he could not provide.  
  
 _"That's right Roman, he knows a lot more than he's letting on..."_  Phillip's voice cooed.  _"You know what you have to do, little brother...I'm only looking out for you, like I've told you all along..."_  
  
 _"Roman, wait!"_  Paige yelled.  
  
 _"FLIPENDO DUO!"_  Roman shouted, and Virgil braced himself...  
  
...for an impact that never came.  
  
He chanced a glance upward and saw Phillip lying prone on the floor, clearly unconscious. Roman stood over his brother with a look of pure revulsion on his face.  
  
 _"Roman?"_  Logan inquired.  _"Are you alright?"_  
  
 _"We need to find my boyfriend,"_  Roman growled.   
  
 _"What about Chelsea, Elliott, and Shane?"_  Paige glanced at their three incapacitated friends with a frown.  _"We can't just leave them here."_  
  
The five of them exchanged glances. Logan stroked his chin.  _"Two of us should stay with them. Three of us will go after Deceit."_  
  
"Isn't splitting up what got us into this mess in the first place?" Virgil pointed out, unable to keep the bitterness from seeping into his tone.   
  
Bitterness toward what, exactly? Virgil was still trying to work that one out.  
  
Logan considered what Virgil was saying.  _"One might argue that the circumstances could have been worse if we did not split up. We may not have learned that Roman was not the impostor until it was too late."_  
  
 _"But Shane, Elliott, and Chelsea might not have wound up injured if we were all together,"_  Era countered.  
  
 _"Well if you can think of a better proposal, I would be happy to hear it out. As it stands, however, it does not feel safe to leave these three on their own, and we must act to ensure that Patton is safe. It would not be wise to delay either activity any further than we already have,"_  Logan folded his arms across his chest.  
  
 _"He's right,"_  Roman agreed.  _"I wish to be in the party that goes after Deceit."_  
  
 _"Naturally,"_  Logan responded.  _"On the other hand, I feel that my talents are best suited toward remaining here with our injured comrades."_  
  
"I'll stay here with P-wait, what?" Virgil stared at Logan. "You're not...why would you stay here?"  
  
 _"I feel that my talents are better suited to rendering first aid to our friends as opposed to a potential battle. You, on the other hand, are better suited for battle,"_  Logan said with a nod.  
  
"...are you kidding me? If he's the one who attacked me...and I'm pretty sure he is...he totally messed me up last time. Does that sound like someone who's better suited for battle?" Virgil protested.  
  
 _"Yes, as a matter of fact, it does,"_  Era chimed in.  _"You've faced off against him before, not to mention he is your brother. You know him best out of all of us."_  
  
"He also knows  _me_  best," Virgil argued back. "And he's used that to his advantage before. Who's to say he won't do it again?"

 _"Been there, done that, could write the book on it,"_  Roman responded, gesturing to the unconscious form of his brother.  _"He told me exactly what I needed to hear to manipulate me into attacking you. He used my trust of Patton against me, and my...my lingering doubts concerning you. I never should have...I should have recognized that something was wrong from the jump street,"_  Roman sighed.  
  
"You thought your boyfriend was hurting, listened to what he told you, then tried to defend him. There's nothing wrong with that, Roman," Virgil assured him.  
  
 _"I attacked you on false pretenses, how is there_  not  _something wrong with that?"_  
  
"You didn't know they were false pretenses at the time. You thought you were protecting Patton. He knew you'd do anything to protect Patton and used that against you. That's not on you, that's on  _him_. He tricked you using the very best of your nature against y-" Virgil's eyes widened. "That's how..." Virgil snapped his fingers.  
  
 _"How what, Virge?"_  Roman urged him on.  
  
"I mean, I don't know for sure, but based on what he wrote...he said that 'I knew what would happen if he I didn't meet him' in that letter you found in my pocket. It's written like a threat. He...he knew what to say that would get me to agree to anything. I think...I think he threatened to go after you guys," Virgil said at last.  
  
 _"An astute observation,"_  Logan agreed.   
  
 _"So Virgil and I are going after Deceit and you three are remaining here?"_  Roman looked around at the other three.  
  
 _"No, I'm going too,"_  Era stepped forward.   
  
 _"It's settled then,"_  Logan said, adjusting his glasses.  _"Paige and I will remain here, while you three will seek out Deceit."_  
  
"Wait," Virgil held up a finger. "I...is there any way we can maintain contact with one another? Some sort of spell or potion or something? I stand by what I said earlier - Splitting up  _is_  what got us into this mess in the first place."  
  
 _"There is one solution that I can think of. It was utilized during the Second Wizarding War by a group of schoolchildren like us. Here, give me your left hand, Virgil."_  
  
Virgil did as Logan instructed. Logan tapped Virgil's watch, then tapped his own.   
  
 _"What's that supposed to do?"_  Paige eyed the watches curiously.  
  
 _"I have connected the two watches with a Protean Charm. They will read the exact same thing,"_ Logan explained.  
  
 _"And that helps us how...?"_  Roman motioned with his hands for Logan to continue.  
  
 _"In circumstances like this, the watches will do nothing other than read the correct time. Hopefully that is all that we will need them to do. In case of an emergency, however..."_  Logan tapped the face of his watch at the 4, the 7, and the 8. The minute hand of the watch began to revolve around the clock unfettered. He tapped the side of the watch and it immediately set itself to the correct time once more.  
  
"It's like a built in alarm," Virgil observed in wonder. "You're a genius, L."  
  
Though Logan tried to disguise it, there was undoubtedly a hint of a blush present on his cheeks. Virgil leaned forward and gave Logan a peck on the lips, then took Logan's hand into his and giving it a squeeze. "Good luck." He told him.  
  
 _"You as well, Virgil,"_  Logan squeezed Virgil's hand in return, then looked to Roman and Era.  _"The two of you as well."_  
  
 _"Hurry back,"_  Paige told them, a wary expression on her face. She then turned to remove a clear liquid from her bag and began to dab it on one of Elliott's wounds.  
  
 _"Be careful, you two,"_  Era warned Logan and Paige before Virgil, Roman, and Era set off on the next part of their adventure.  
  
 _"Who do you think is more danger, the two of them or the three of us?"_  Roman asked as they walked.  
  
"We'll soon find out," Virgil muttered, holding his wand at the ready as they began their search.


	35. Chapter 35

I feel the need to share a couple of notes with you guys. First off, I started a new fanfic that is an AU of sorts of this fanfic (...yes, an AU of an AU. Some of you have already seen it, but for those that haven't? It is located [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16534259/chapters/38733323)!

In addition to that, I have received the results of two art requests today, both of which can be associated with this fanfic. One such request was from @breigrace on tumblr, for their 'I Voted! Sketch Request'. They did a Slytherin Virgil -

 

Given that they did this in less than a day's time, I think it came out FANTASTIC. <3

Speaking of pieces of art that came out fantastic, I got a commission from @ierindoodles on tumblr. He was very good about the process, showing me his progress as he went along to make certain that I was still content with the product. He did one of Virgil, Roman, Patton, and Logan, and even made the background match their house colors! 

It was well worth the price, and I would certainly commission from him again. ^^ I absolutely love this. <3 I had a fast turnaround from him too; I made the request only a couple of days ago!

I hope you guys enjoy these two artists' works, and, if you're interested, the new AU of this story as well. ^^


	36. Chapter 36

Virgil knew that Logan and Paige probably wouldn't face any trouble so soon after Virgil, Roman, and Era parted from them, but that did not stop him from repeatedly glancing down at his watch to ascertain it.  
  
 _"That is the eighth time you've glanced down at your warch,"_  Roman not-so-helpfully pointed out after one such action.  
  
"...you've been counting?" Virgil teased, trying to disguise the worry in his voice. Patton was possibly in extreme danger; Chelsea, Elliott, and Shane were incapacitated. And they'd split up yet again. There was also the matter of Phillip, Roman's brother, who lay unconscious near the others. He figured that Logan and Paige could neutralize him again before he posed any additional threat, but it was still a concern - one of many to add to the ever growing pile.

 _"I'm sure they're fine, we haven't even been gone that long,"_  Era remarked.  
  
They all had their wands in hand. They weren't sure where they might encounter Deceit - or Patton - and thus wanted to be prepared at any moment.  
  
 _"Guys, what if they're not even in the castle? What if they're not even at Hogwarts?"_  Roman said suddenly. Virgil froze where he stood, Era nearly crashing into him.

 _"Little warning next time would be nice..."_  Era muttered, her expression morphing into a deepened frown once she saw the look on Virgil's face.  _"You alright?"_  
  
"I...yeah, I'm fine, let's keep looking," Virgil responded hastily. They wouldn't know if Patton and Deceit were still on Hogwarts grounds unless they  _looked_  for them. Given that Phillip's presence was serving as a diversion, Virgil's best guess was that they were still on Hogwarts grounds. There was nothing to divert their attention from if Deceit had Patton somewhere off of Hogwarts grounds, and Virgil suspected that Phillip hadn't been expecting Roman to hit him so hard with a strengthened Knockback Jinx that he went flying backward into a wall.  
  
 _"Now Virgil, I know you're probably going to want to curse Deceit into next Tuesday when we find him, but try not to hog him all to yourself? I'd like to introduce myself properly to him. And as you see, I have a mean Knockback Jinx if necessary,"_  Roman requested.  
  
"Let's focus on getting Patton back first, then we'll talk about Deceit himself," Virgil pointed out. Leave it to Roman to automatically jump to 60 from 0. If possible, Virgil would prefer rescuing Patton with little involvement from Deceit,  
  
He doubted that would be so lucky, however. Roman's plan was therefore Plan B or possibly even Plan C in the arrangement.

 _"Of course, Patton's safety is the top priority,"_  Roman agreed. But it was also clear that if Patton wound up hurt (Virgil was doing his best to ignore the possibility that he might be something  _worse_  than hurt), Roman would want vengeance. So would Virgil, for that matter. And if Virgil had to guess at why Era had a fierce look on her face, Era was thinking of what happened to her brother the year before.  
  
Dalibor Petrović was the one to kidnap Astrit, but Deceit's attempts to plant a cursed object on Patton were the factor that introduced Petrović to their lives in the first place.  
  
 _"How would Deceit even make it into the school unimpeded?"_  Era wondered out loud.   
  
 _"He had help from within, of course. That scoundrel of a brother of mine,"_  Roman snarled.  _"I will certainly not forget his role in what has occurred."_  
  
 _"Yes, but...even with help, people are on the lookout for Deceit. He's one of the most wanted wizards in the country. A lot of witches and wizards have children at Hogwarts. People want justice. How would he have gotten onto Hogwarts grounds without someone spotting him?"_  Era pondered out loud.  
  
 _"Polyjuice Potion?"_  Roman suggested.  _"I suspect that is what that fiend used to impersonate Patton, so they must have access to a stash of it."_  
  
 _"That's great news!"_  Era blurted out suddenly, a small smile appearing on her face.  
  
Virgil stared back at her. "...how is that great? Deceit could be posing as anyone..."  
  
 _"No, no, not that. I was referring to your brother using Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself as Patton,"_  Era clarified.

Virgil's eyes widened as the realization that hit Era moments before hit him as well. "For the Polyjuice Potion to work, the person being impersonated has be to kept alive. If Roman's brother used Polyjuice Potion to disguise himself as Patton, Patton's still alive!"   
  
 _"For now,"_  Era pointed out.   
  
 _"Deceit would have no way of knowing that we've already seen through Phillip's disguise though,"_ Roman observed.  _"So if he did plan on doing something to Patton...wouldn't it be stupid to do it now, when doing so would ruin Phillip's disguise?"_  
  
The heavy air that surrounded the three seemed to lighten ever so slightly as the three of them considered the possibilities. This was still a difficult situation and Patton was still in extreme danger - but all signs pointed to him still being  _alive_.

Roman stopped suddenly, causing Virgil to crash into the back of him and Era to crash into Virgil in turn.  
  
 _"Guys, you have to stop...well, stopping, without warning!"_  Era groaned in frustration.  
  
"What's up, Princey?" Virgil arched an eyebrow at Roman.   
  
 _"Who let their snake loose in Hogwarts?"_  Roman frowned, pointing to a yellow snake directly in their path.  
  
A  _familiar_  yellow snake.

Roman pointed his wand in the direction of the snake.  _"Petrif-"_

"Wait!" Virgil blurted out, extending his hand in front of Roman.

 _"But we don't know where the snake came from! A snake attacked Patton's brother, what if it's the same one?"_ Roman countered.

"It's not. I already researched this snake, because it's the one I found that I adopted. It's not venomous," Virgil assured him.

 _"Well grab the snake and keep going then, we have to find Patton,"_ Roman told him. Virgil went to scoop up the snake, only for the snake to lash out and bite him on the hand.

 _"Petrificus Totalus!"_ Roman growled out, but the spell missed its mark and the snake slithered off before anyone could try again.

 _"It may not be venomous but it sure isn't friendly,"_ Era muttered dryly.

Virgil frowned and stared down at the wound on his hand before tightening his grip on the wand in his other hand. "Nevermind that, we need to keep looking for Patton." Yet Virgil couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to go sideways...


	37. Chapter 37

"I don't get it. Why would the snake  _bite_  me?" Virgil grumbled as he not only glanced down at his hand but at his watch to make certain that Logan hadn't set off his watch.  
  
 _"Well, you might have technically considered it to be your pet, but you've only had it for a couple of weeks. I doubt it felt much loyalty to you,"_  Era shrugged.  
  
 _"Talk about biting the hand that feeds you, though! If I were you I would definitely not let him back in your dorm,"_  Roman sighed dramatically.  
  
"Believe me, I don't have any plans to," Virgil sighed, glancing down at his hand again. Was it just him or were the fang marks starting to grow redder?  
  
He didn't have time to deliberate on that, however. As he, Roman, and Era turned the next corner, they saw a familiar form lying on the ground.  
  
 _"Patton!"_  Roman screamed and rushed to the Hufflepuff's side at once. Patton stirred feebly, his eyes opening. They looked unfocused at first, but then focused in on Roman.&nbsp  
  
 _"Roman..."_  Patton smiled weakly.  _"You came...Deceit said you wouldn't come, he s-said..."_  
  
 _"Shhh, my love,"_  Roman whispered, planting a kiss on Patton's forehead.  _"Whatever Deceit told you was a lie. I have been looking for you this entire time, as have Virgil and Era."_  
  
"I don't mean to interrupt this romantic reunion, but Patton, what the hell  _happened_  to you?" Virgil blurted out, sensing the opportunity that Roman's comment provided him with and not wanting to waste it.  
  
 _"L-Language, kiddo,"_  Patton teased before inhaling sharply and wincing.  
  
 _"It's nice to see you trying to lighten the atmosphere, Patton, but...we need to get you to the Hospital Wing,"_  Era swallowed.  
  
 _"Y-Yeah, that's probably not a bad idea, mighta taken one or two too many curses. It's okay though, I'll be right as rain in no time! No need to worry about me!"_  Patton tried to sound cheery, but his voice remained faint. He had a few scratches and lacerations that he was bleeding from. One such injury across his arm looked particularly deep.  
  
Virgil knew that Patton was trying to play off his injuries because he didn't want to worry the others, but Virgil would worry nevertheless - and while the others weren't as prone as he was to worry in  _most_  instances? In this particular one, Roman and Era looked just as concerned as he did.  
  
Roman acted as a brace for Patton to hold as the Hufflepuff slowly made his way to his feet.  _"Easy there, Patton,"_  Roman told him. Once Patton made it up to his feet, he leaned slightly against Roman for support. Roman was prepared for this as well, and steadied himself. This allowed Patton to put less focus on staying on his feet, and more focus on what was happening around them.  
  
It was at this point that Patton looked down at Virgil's hand.  _"Virgil, what happened to your hand?"_ Patton gasped, his hand going to his mouth.  
  
"Oh, this?" Virgil held up the hand with the twin holes where the snake's fangs punctured the skin. "Yeah, my snake got loose. I tried to pick it up and it bit me."  
  
He wasn't expecting Patton's eyes to widen in horror.  _"A snake? What did this snake look like?"_  
  
 _"It was about two feet long and varying shades of yellow in color,"_  Era told Patton, eyeing him closely. It seemed that Era, too, recognized that something was a bit strange about Patton's reaction, though she didn't look any closer to figuring it out than Virgil was.  
  
Patton paled so much that Roman looked at him concernedly.  _"Patton, are you alright? We can sit you down again if you would like..."_  the Gryffindor frowned at his boyfriend.  
  
 _"No, that's not...Virgil's snake bite..."_  Patton responded.  
  
"I'll wash it out as soon as I get to a sink," Virgil assured him.&nbsp  
  
Patton shook his head rapidly.  _"No, the snake, it's...wait, Virgil, did you say that_  your  _snake got loose? William Snakespeare?"_  
  
Virgil nodded. "Yeah, someone must have left the dorm open and it slipped out. It's happened with Storm before so I'm not surprised.  
  
Patton's respiration rate quickened, and Virgil started forward, afraid that Patton was about to pass out. Instead, Patton's eyes met Virgil's and Virgil instead took a step back.  
  
 _"William Snakespeare is...he's not a normal snake, Virgil. He's the one who did this to me,"_  Patton was practically whimpering at this point, and buried his head into Roman's shoulder. Roman held him tightly, running a comforting hand through his hair.  
  
 _"I don't understand, you look like you were attacked by a witch or a wizard, not a snake..."_  Era said in a puzzled tone.  
  
 _"Are you alright, Patton? Perhaps you do need to set down, you are looking awfully pale..."_  Roman urged Patton. Patton shook his head with more force this time, surprising all of them.  
  
 _"No, you need to listen to me! That snake isn't a snake!"_  Patton was all but yelling at this point, as if he'd reserved what was left of his voice for that very moment.  
  
 _"Patton, that's...what would the snake be if not a...oh no,"_  Era's hand flew to her mouth. Clearly she'd reached a realization.  
  
"Era?" Virgil glanced over at her with a frown. Roman, on the other hand, was more concerned with consoling Patton.  
  
 _"Certain witches and wizards possess the ability to shift from an animal form to a human form. Which means that, if my hunch is correct, Patton is trying to tell us that William Snakespeare..."_  
  
 _"Is an Animagus,"_  a familiar voice interrupted her, followed by a few slow claps. Virgil, Era, Roman, and Patton turned to the voice at once.  _"Wherever would you get an idea like that?"_  The corner's of the speaker's mouth twitched upward - both the wizard half and the  _snake_  half. Even his  _eye_  resembled that of a snake's.  
  
The snake half of the face resembled the scales on William Snakespeare to a tee, from color to pattern. The human half of the face was unmistakably his brother.   
  
"Frick," Virgil said with a gulp.


	38. Chapter 38

Virgil stared into his brother's disfigured face, wondering what in the world  _happened_.  
  
 _"There is no need to look at me like that, Anxiety, you've seen me like this before,"_  Deceit drawled.  
  
 _"He has?"_  Roman arched an eyebrow at Deceit.  _"You have?"_  he turned to Virgil with a bewildered expression.  
  
"Not that I recall," Virgil responded with a wary glance at Deceit.   
  
 _"Ah yes, not that you_  recall.  _Because you know your recollection of such events has been so reliable as of late,"_  the corners of Deceit's mouth twisted upward to form a devilish smirk. Of course. Deceit was the one to alter his memories. Of course he'd seen Deceit like this before, but Virgil made it clear that he would stand in Deceit's way if he kept his memories of such a thing, and so Deceit altered them to cover his tracks.   
  
 _"Because of you! You're the one who tried to use the Imperius Curse on him and then modified his memory, aren't you?"_  Era glared at the former Slytherin, voicing those same suspicions. At least Virgil wasn't the only one to reach that conclusion.  
  
 _"No, of course not! Wherever would you get an absurd idea like that?"_  Deceit rolled his eyes, but was unable to keep the mirth completely from his face. This, as it turned out, had a particularly strong effect on Roman, who immediately adopted a battle pose and tightened his grip on his wand as he brandished it in Deceit's direction. His other hand in the meantime held Patton tighter.  
  
 _"You hurt Patton! Prepare to die, you fiend!"_  Roman roared.  
  
 _"Whoa, die? How noble of you, Roman. I'm sure Patton would love to hear that you_  killed  _for him. I'm sure that wouldn't ruin him in any way, knowing that his boyfriend took another's life because of him,"_  Deceit countered.  
  
Virgil cast a glare in Deceit's direction. There he was, already attempting to manipulate them - appealing to Roman's sense of nobility and his love of Patton. Patton seemed to open his mouth to speak, but Era beat him to the punch.  
  
 _"We can stop you without killing you, so try another tactic, Lionel,"_  Era snarled.   
  
 _"Gladly,"_  Deceit responded, though Virgil noted that a crack appeared in his demeanor when Era called him by his proper name. He clearly wasn't expecting  _that_  one, and Virgil felt a surge of confidence.  
  
A surge of confidence that abruptly faded when Deceit pointed his wand at Era and bellowed the Cruciatus Curse.  
  
Era was able to get out of the way of the curse just in time, but the wide-eyed expression she shot toward Deceit indicated that she hadn't expected the battle to escalate that much with just a simple comment.  
  
 _"Did you forget it is three against one?"_  Roman declared confidently.  _"What makes you think you'll be able to take down all three of us?"_  
  
 _"Who says that I necessarily want to take out all three of you?"_  Deceit responded with a raised eyebrow.   
  
Virgil felt a lurch in his stomach at Roman's words. Logan uttered the same words down in the cavern beneath the Forbidden Forest just before Dalibor made his presence known.   
  
He didn't want a repeat of what happened in the cavern,  _please_  don't let there be a repeat of what happened in the cavern...  
  
 _"You're wrong, Roman. It's not three against one,"_  Patton said suddenly, and Virgil's gut gave another lurch. No, Patton was not in any shape to fight, what was he doing?  
  
 _"Oh, have you finally decided that my offer is worth taking?"_  Deceit asked Patton.   
  
...what? What offer? What was Deceit talking about?  
  
Patton nodded.  _"I have. It's...it's the only way..."_  
  
"No it's not, Patton, don't fall for his tricks!" Virgil yelled. He'd fallen for them time and time again, he would know better than most.   
  
Patton let out a joyless laugh.  _"It's the only way. He threatened to go after Toby, August, and Seth again. I can't let him...I won't let him...I'll turn myself in before I let him go after them."_  
  
 _"No, Patton! I will not let y-"_  Roman's shout was cut short by Patton.  
  
 _"Petrificus Totalus!"_  Patton called out, Roman falling to to the ground unable to move anything other than his eyes, which looked on at the situation with abject horror. He then turned to Virgil and Era.  _"Expelliarmus!"_  he shouted, and Virgil and Era were so shocked by what occurred that they were unable to perform a counter spell in time.  
  
Virgil and Era both watched with horrified expressions as Patton walked over to Deceit's side. Even Deceit looked mildly surprised, but also  _impressed_.   
  
 _"Patton, you don't have to do this..."_  Era said quietly.  
  
 _"Yes, I do,"_  Patton told her.  _"It's the only way to ensure that my brothers remain safe."_  He closed his eyes as a small smile came across his face.  _"I'm ready. Remember your promise, though. Remember you won't hurt my brothers, or any of my friends after you do this."_  
  
 _"But of course. I am a man of my word,"_  Deceit said, Virgil watching on in horror as Deceit crossed his fingers behind his back. Of course Deceit didn't plan on keeping his word, Deceit  _never_  planned on keeping his word.   
  
"PAT, HE'S-" Virgil shouted, but Deceit already had his wand at the side of Patton's head. It was too late.  
  
 _"Imper..."_  
  
Patton's eyes suddenly flew open and he tightened his grip on his wand - which he raised slightly within his grasp so that Deceit would be directly within the path of whatever spell he chose to cast.  _"STUPEFY!"_  he roared. Deceit, already in mid-spell, had no opportunity to offer a counter spell. As if in slow motion, the former Slytherin toppled to the ground completely unconscious.  
  
Patton glared down at Deceit over his glasses.  _"Looks like you're not the only one who can bend the truth to get what they want. Don't you ever try hurting my friends again,"_  the Hufflepuff glared down at the unconscious Slytherin, righteous fury seeping throughout his tone.  
  
He then turned to the others, offering them a weak smile.  _"Surprise?"_  he told them feebly before he, too, crumpled to the ground.


	39. Chapter 39

Virgil raced forward at once, catching Patton before he hit the ground. He'd already been through enough, he didn't need to fall face first on the ground in addition to all of that.  
  
Next, he turned to Deceit. His eyes narrowed as he stood over the unconscious form of his brother. Deceit posed as his pet snake the entire time, learning their secrets. Patton's initial impulse about the snake was correct. Virgil maneuvered himself so that he could still maitain his grip on Patton while aiming his wand at Deceit.   
  
"Incarcerous!" he declared. Ropes sprung up and bound Deceit. Virgil gave a satisfied nod.  
  
 _"Rennervate!"_  Virgil heard Era incant. He turned just in time to see Roman stirring. Roman took in what was happening and immediately made his way to his feet when he saw Patton in Virgil's arms.  
  
 _"Patton!"_  Roman screamed and ran over. Virgil made sure that Patton was in a secure position before he went to hand the unconscious Hufflepuff to Roman.  
  
Roman...Roman was crying.  _"Is he...please tell me he's okay Virgil, please..."_  
  
"We need to get him to the Hospital Wing, Roman. He's been through a lot. He needs medical attention," Virgil informed Roman.

 _"But he's alive. If he needs medical attention he's alive,"_  Roman smiled through his tears.  
  
"Not only is he alive, but he saved our butts," Virgil admitted. "He beat Deceit at his own game."  
  
 _"I wouldn't say we're completely out of the blue yet. Not until we hand both Deceit and Phillip over to the Ministry,"_  Era mentioned.  
  
With everything that happened, Virgil realized with a jolt that he'd stopped checking his watch. He hastily glanced down at the watch, relief washing over him when he saw that Logan hadn't sent out any distress signals. While that did not guarantee that Logan, Paige, and the others were safe, it  _was_  a good sign.  
  
 _"Roman?"_  All three of them immediately turned at Patton's voice, as quiet as it was.  
  
 _"I'm right here darling, you're safe now,"_  Roman held Patton tighter to him.   
  
The corners of Patton's mouth twitched upward to form a weak smile.  _"I'm sorry I hurt you Roman. I just...I knew I had to do something or he was going to try to hurt us all, and I knew he wouldn't expect something from me and..."_    
  
 _"Shhh. Conserve your energy, Patton. You can tell us later when everything has settled down,"_ Roman told Patton in a gentle voice.  
  
 _"Alright, let's get Deceit and contact the Ministry. Levicorpus!"_  Era called out as Deceit's unconscious form began to levitate in the air.  
  
The four set off down the hall, Roman assisting a barely conscious Patton as they walked and Virgil keeping a close eye out for any potential threats.  
  
There were occasional moments of levity that broke the tension, such as the moment when Era accidentally bumped Deceit's head against the ceiling.  _"Oops,"_  she quickly adjusted her spell.  
  
Roman let out a scornful chuckle.  _"I, personally, would not be opposed to a few more such 'accidents'."_  
  
Virgil couldn't help but agree with Roman. Deceit had proven to be such a pain in their backsides over the past couple of years that he honestly  _deserved_  a few knocks on the side of his head at the very least.  
  
He kept quiet, though. He wanted to focus on making sure that the others weren't in danger. He also wanted to get to where Logan, Paige, Chelsea, Elliott, and Shane were to make certain that  _they_  were safe.   
  
Virgil was pleased to see that not only were the others waiting, but Phillip was bound up - presumably by Logan, Paige, or Elliott. Elliott was now conscious and aware of what was going on around them, though they still looked as if they could use some medical assistance. Chelsea was still near unconsciousness and Shane was still out cold.   
  
 _"Liberacorpus,"_  Era pointed in the direction of Deceit, who fell to the ground in a heap.  _"Oops, that may have been a bit rougher than I intended it to be."_  The wry grin that came across her face after this, however, indicated that her rough handling of Deceit was very much intentional.  
  
 _"What happened?"_  Paige asked them. She winced at the sight of Patton, who feebly chuckled.  
  
 _"Awww, I don't look that bad, do I?"_  Patton managed a small smile. Paige seemed to relax at this, recognizing that if Patton was feeling well enough to attempt to cheer them up, he was on the mend.  
  
Logan ran up to Virgil and threw his arms around him, much to Virgil's surprise...though Logan's next reaction was far more subdued and far more in line with Logan's usual behavior.  _"You didn't use your watch,"_  he observed, eyeing the device on Virgil's wrist.  
  
Virgil shrugged. "There wasn't really any need to use it? Patton took control of the situation and we were able to take out Deceit without any add...additional help." Huh. Virgil swayed on his feet a little as a wave of dizziness washed over him.  
  
 _"Virgil, are you alright?"_  Logan frowned. Virgil took in Logan's facial expression, hoping that he hadn't worried his boyfriend too much. No such luck by the looks of it. There was concern on his...  
  
Uh-oh.  
  
Virgil began feeling  _off_  soon into their walk back to this area, but he'd brushed it aside as they had more pressing matters to worry about. He knew they'd had to get back to the others before they could do anything else, and he knew that he was in the best position to act as a watchman. Era was busy levitating Deceit, and Roman was busy helping Patton. Virgil wasn't doing anything other than walking along, and that left him in the best position to scout out any additional threats. After everything that happened with Deceit and Phillip? Virgil wasn't about to take any chances that they had a third accomplice hiding in the shadows waiting to act.  
  
The fact that he was seeing  _two_  of Logan's face, though? That was impossible to ignore or brush off. Virgil blinked a few times in an attempt to clear his vision, but it did little to help. "Y-Yeah, I'm..." The corners of his vision began to grow darker.  
  
 _"What is this on your hand? It looks like some sort of bite. Virgil, are you..Virgil? VIRGIL!"_  Logan's increasingly frantic shouts of his name were the last thing Virgil heard before the swirling blackness swallowed him whole.  
  
 _Huh, figures we're not quite out of the woods yet..._


	40. Chapter 40

_Try as he might, Astrit could not break through the barrier that led into the cavern. He whirled around and stared at the one who brought him here in the first place._

_"I knew it. I knew there was something suspicious about you. The way you were following me around...I wonder how soon they'll figure it out. They'll see through you eventually," he hissed at his captor._

_A dark chuckle escaped Virgil's mouth, the response coming out in a language Virgil was by no means fluent in, yet Astrit seemed to understand well. He'd been defiant before. Now that demeanor was wiped away, replaced with a look of abject horror._

_"You're not...you're not Virgil Thompson," Astrit's voice shook as he spoke the unwanted truth._

_Virgil's legs carried him forward as he extended his wand. "Incarcerous." It was an unnecessary action, given that Dalibor already cast barriers to prevent Astrit from escaping, but perhaps the extra precaution was less out of necessity and more to drive the point home to Astrit that Dalibor was the one in control of the narrative now, and that Astrit better not try anything - even talking back._

 The first thing that Virgil registered was the worst pain that he ever felt. Though he tried, he could not keep himself from crying out.

There was a rush of activity around him. He struggled to even breathe because the pain was so bad. He closed his eyes, a shudder rippling through him - even this involuntary action cause him severe pain.

_"Should we get a Sleeping Draught?"_  he heard a man's voice ask.

_"No, a Sleeping Draught will take too long to work. We need a spell,"_  a woman's voice responded. Virgil heard an incantation that he could not recognize. The pain instantly faded - and along with it Virgil's awareness of anything else happening around him.

_"You can't escape, Virgil, no matter how hard you try," Deceit told Virgil, who was trapped in ropes that Deceit conjured to hold him in place._

Deceit's voice was strange. It was recognizable as Deceit's, but it had a distorted, almost snake-like quality to it.

"Keep trying. You can't run from your fate, Virgil," Deceit's laughter led Virgil to struggle further, though his efforts remained fruitless.

  _"You won't...I can't..."_

_Something was wrong. The more Virgil struggled, the more the ropes tightened around him._

_"Can't what, Virgil?" Deceit let out a low chuckle._

_"I....can't..." Virgil said through clenched teeth. He'd since given up on the struggle, yet the ropes continued to bind themselves tighter and tighter around him. The pain grew greater with each passing moment, and he struggled to breathe as he felt the ropes tighten around his chest._

_He would not lower himself to begging Deceit to stop, but he was not sure how much longer he could withstand this._

_"You are bound, you cannot escape," Deceit was beside himself with laughter at this point. Virgil opened his eyes to glare at Deceit._

_No longer was Virgil entrapped by ropes, but rather within the coils of a large yellow snake. Virgil tried to scream but no sound came out as the snake constricted around him._

_"You will live up to the Thompson name, whether you want to or not!" Deceit's voice roared._

Virgil let out a bellowing scream. He was no longer wrapped within the coils of the snake, but the pain was still near to unbearable. He chewed on his lip to keep himself from crying out again. 

_"The venom is still making it's way through his system. We need more time,"_  a woman's voice said.

_"I think we can manage a Sleeping Draught this time,"_  another voice said through the haze. Virgil felt something wet hit his lips and he opened them. It was only as the liquid made it's way down his throat that Virgil realized how parched he was, and he eagerly continued to drink. The drink carried him away from the pain once more.

When he next opened his eyes, the pain was still present - but at a tolerable level this time.

Cognizant of someone else in the room, Virgil glanced over to see his mother. He heard footsteps to his left as someone else entered the room. A young man smiled back at him.  _"Good to see you up and at 'em. You've had a rough week,"_  he told Virgil.

"Week?" Virgil croaked, surprised at how worn his voice sounded. If he'd been out for a week, why did it sound as if he'd given a four hour speech with no breaks.

_"VIRGIL!"_  Virgil's mother's shout pulled Virgil from this thought and drew his attention over to her. Before he could say or do anything else, he was wrapped in his mother's embrace. He winced slightly, and his mother pulled away and looked him over.

_"I'm sorry, I forgot about the pain,"_  Renilda frowned.

_"The anti-venom has run its course, but he will suffering the residual effects of this bite over the next month or so. Owing to his age, physical condition, and our previous experience dealing with a similar snake bite, he should make a fairly quick recovery,"_  the Healer smiled.

_"Thank you,"_  Renilda told the healer as he left the room. Virgil sighed and sat up slightly, trying to get comfortable.

_"I'm sure you have questions,"_  Renilda said with a weary sigh. 

Virgil nodded. "Only a few. What happened to Deceit?"

Renilda clenched her hands together. Virgil wondered if perhaps he should have led with a different question. Then, with effort, Renilda appeared to steel herself.  _"He's being held in Azkaban now. Your father was able to sway the Ministry the first time around, but he was not so lucky this time. In fact, they are beginning an inquest into your father at the Ministry. He has been placed on administrative leave."_  Though she tried to speak in a detached tone, she was unable to stop a note of bitterness from seeping into her voice.

Virgil didn't blame her.

" _How is Patton?"_  Virgil asked next, recalling the condition he'd been in before Virgil collapsed.

_"He spent a couple of days in the Hospital Wing at Hogwarts. I've been sending owls back and forth with Logan. He arranged it so that each of your friends wrote you a small note, and then sent it with one of his owls. You may read them if you want,"_ Renilda replied, digging into her purse and pulling out a handful of letters.

Virgil's face brightened. He knew what he would be doing over the next couple of hours.

 


	41. Chapter 41

True to the healer's word, Virgil spent nearly a week longer in St. Mungo's to allow him to recuperate fully. At the time of his release he was still a little weak, but the only pain that persisted was an occasional stinging sensation in his hand where the fangs sunk in. There were still marks there. As Virgil was attacked by Deceit in Animagus form, Virgil was informed that they were cursed wounds and would likely never heal completely. 

  
Virgil arrived back at Hogwarts with his hand wrapped up. It seemed silly to go back to school with only a couple of weeks left in the school year by that point, but he  _did_  want to catch up with his friends in person before they all separated for the summer. 

There were a few surprises waiting for him when he returned. One was the sight of  _Chelsea_  among the group of friends waiting for him when he returned. He still did not know if he could consider Chelsea a friend, but he was no longer as averse to it as he once was. Chelsea's warning about an imposter put them on the lookout and may have offered them just enough of an advantage to allow them to get out of this as well as they did.

  
One member of their friend group, however, appeared to have deemed Chelsea as more than just a friend.

 

Era and Chelsea were holding hands. Virgil's gaze lingered on their hands for a few seconds too long, and Era and Chelsea exchanged a knowing look accompanied by snickering.

He'd definitely have to ask Era what happened later on. Or even Chelsea, if she was willing to divulge.

In the meantime, though, he couldn't exactly ignore his other friends. 

_"Is that where the snake bit you?"_  Shane asked, pointing out the bandage on Virgil's hand.

Virgil nodded, rubbing his hand over the bandage. "Yeah, the healer said its probably going to end up scarring."

_"Hey, there's one good side to that,"_  Shane noted.

Elliott shot him an incredulous look.  _"There is?"_

Shane held out his hand, where a faint burn mark was etched on his palm.  _"We can be battle scar buddies!"_

Virgil could not help but chuckle lightly at Shane's surprisingly successful attempt to lighten the mood. He knew Shane went through a lot the year before, and despite Shane's sometimes goofy demeanor? There was a lot more to the guy than met the eye.

The group gradually began to disperse as time went on. While it was nice to catch up, Elliott and Shane had a prior arrangement, Chelsea and Era had a date, Paige and Astrit had homework...

Which left Virgil, Logan, Patton, and Roman to talk among themselves.

_"I would like to extend all of you an invitation to my domicile over the summer. Especially you, Virgil. My parents are eager to meet you,"_  Logan informed them.

Virgil glanced over at Patton and Roman in anticipation of their reply when it hit Virgil - Roman's family was similar to Virgil's own. Roman would have to return home to a family who might very well know of the large part Roman played in foiling the plans of his older brother shortly before Phillip's graduation from Hogwarts.

 

Virgil wasn't sure how likely Roman would be to discuss the matter with all of the attention on him - Though Roman usually thrived on attention, he seemed to clam up about the subject of his family.

The Slytherin waited until Patton and Logan were in the depths of a conversation about the triplets before turning his attention to Roman. "So what are your plans for the summer?" He tried to phrase it casually, but braced himself for a negative reaction from Roman. Why had he even asked in the first place? He should have just kept his mouth shut and let sleeping dogs lie.

To Virgil's surprise, though, Roman began to grin.  _"Going to Patton's!"_

Virgil was surprised by both the enthusiasm and confidence with which Roman spoke, given everything that occurred as of late. "You think your family will..."

_"Oh who cares what they think?"_  Roman said loudly, attracting the attention of both Logan and Patton. This was going all wrong, Virgil was trying  _not_  to get them involved, and Roman's big mouth got their attention regardless.

_"Who cares what who thinks about what?"_  Patton asked cautiously.

_"My family! It is not as if I will be going home with them over the summer anyway,"_  Roman declared.

"You what?" Virgil blinked, trying to make sense of what he just heard. "Roman are you...are you being kicked out?"

_"Yup!"_  Roman said cheerfully.

Virgil stared at him. Why was he so  _cheerful_  about this?

The most unexpected turn of events was when Patton started to chuckle. Clearly Patton knew something that Virgil did not.  _"Oh right, you weren't here when all of that happened so you wouldn't know. Roman is coming to stay with my family over the summer!"_  Patton beamed.

Virgil's eyes widened as his gaze shifted over to Roman, looking for confirmation that this was indeed the case. Roman's wide grin was all that he needed. Roman would not be that happy were he headed home. But Patton's house...

 

_"Not to mention we may take you up on that invitation as well, Logan,"_  Roman told the Ravenclaw with a smile.

_"Just make certain that you inform me of your intentions ahead of time. My parents would like to be prepared,"_  Logan responded. Virgil suspected that it was not only Logan's parents who wanted to be prepared ahead of time for a visit, but Logan himself. Not that Virgil saw a problem with that.

_"Can you believe that we're about to finish our second to last year at Hogwarts? Just one year left to go after this!"_  Patton added excitedly. Virgil blanched as he realized the full implications of what Patton was saying.

...one year more, and they would graduate Hogwarts. Virgil wasn't sure if he was ready - or if he'd  _ever_  be ready...


	42. Chapter 42

As it often goes when one wishes for time to slow down, it only speeds up. The end of Virgil's 6th year came like a flash.  
  
He didn't dread going home the way he used to when 'home' was still Thompson Manor, but he knew that he'd miss his friends. He and Logan were already in the process of making plans to see one another over the summer, but there was still a sense of disappointment there.  
  
Virgil and Logan wound up sitting with Paige, Astrit, Era, and Chelsea. It offered Virgil the perfect opportunity to gather more details about their budding relationship...though once the opportunity presented itself, Virgil didn't know what to say without sounding rude or dismissive. He clammed up instead. After the events of the previous year, he was still wary around Chelsea - and it seemed as if Era was too. So what made the difference?  
  
 _"I see that you and Chelsea are what the youth of today would call 'an item',"_  Logan observed with all of the tact of a tree stump.  
  
Paige held her hand over her mouth as she started to chuckle.  
  
"You  _are_  the youth of today, Logan," Virgil pointed out, a few stray snickers escaping his own mouth in the process.

Astrit was laughing so hard that his entire face had turned red.  
  
 _"Yeah, you could call us that,"_  Era responded with a few chuckles of her own.  _"She approached me about it a few days after the mess with Deceit."_  
  
 _"She didn't make it easy, though,"_  Chelsea explained, looking sheepish.   
  
Era, on the other hand, looked proud of herself.  _"I was fairly sure that Chelsea was genuinely sorry for any trouble that she caused, but I had to make sure first."_  
  
Chelsea gave Era's hand a squeeze.  _"She made me promise not to write any articles about any rumors until I did my research next time. She also told me to let you know if I plan on including any of you in my articles again."_  
  
"I take it you agreed?" Virgil asked.  
  
 _"Obviously. It helped that I was planning on doing that anyway, but...you know, a cute girl is always a nice incentive."_  Era leaned over and gave Chelsea a peck on the lips.  
  
Once they pulled away, Chelsea turned her full attention to Virgil.  _"I'm sorry for the harm that I caused with my article. I didn't consider the consequences, I just...heard a story and rushed to get it out because I wanted to be the first to do so. Believe me when I say I've learned my lesson. I can understand if you're still angry with me though - you have every right to be."_  
  
Virgil shrugged. "Let's put it this way...I'm not thrilled about what you wrote and what happened as a result...but Era's the happiest I've ever seen her and if she's happy with you you must be doing something right."  
  
It was Era's turn to look sheepish while Chelsea laughed.

 _"So...seventh year of Hogwarts. Can hardly wait! The highest levels of magic they are willing to teach us. Wonder what they'll have in store for us..."_  Chelsea's eyes lit up as she clasped her hands together.  
  
Virgil, in the meantime, shrunk back slightly into himself. Why was it that everyone else seemed intent on discussing how excited they were when Virgil was terrified at the prospect of leaving the comfortable 'normal' of Hogwarts behind and have to get used to something knew. He  _still_  did not know what career he wished to pursue either, much to his Head of House's chagrin.   
  
 _"At least we can Apparate now?"_  Paige pointed out.  _"Should make meeting up to do anything over the summer a lot easier,"_  she shrugged.  
  
 _"Not all of us can Apparate,"_  Logan shrugged.  
  
Paige's hand flew to her mouth as she noted both Astrit and Virgil.  _"Oh right."_  
  
Virgil shrugged. "It's cool. There's always Floo Powder. I know Logan's home is hooked up to it at least."  
  
 _"Mine is too. I don't think Era and Astrit are connected to the Floo Network, however,"_  Paige pointed out.  
  
 _"We're connected to_  a  _Floo Network, just not the same one,"_  Era clarified.  
  
 _"Ah yes, you would be on the Albanian Floo Network,"_  Logan realized. Era nodded in confirmation.  
  
 _"I doubt Patton has it either since his parents are Muggles,"_  Astrit noted.  _"And since Roman's going to stay with him, that means Patton and Roman are not connected to the Floo Network either."_  
  
"Guys, I'm not saying it  _has_  to be Floo Powder. This doesn't have to be a big thing," Virgil interjected, torn between embarrassment for causing such a ruckus over his fear of Apparating and amusement over the fact that a simple comment was causing this much of a ruckus in the first place.  
  
Logan cleared his throat.  _"Regardless, I believe that we can all come to a consensus on one thing."_    
  
 _"What is that?"_  Chelsea asked him.  
  
 _"Keeping in touch over the summer is key. So long as we stay in touch, we should be able to determine the details at a later date,"_  Logan responded.  
  
The Hogwarts Express soon pulled in at the station, and students began to depart from the train. While scanning the area for his parents, Virgil took in a few of the scenes at King's Cross. There were a number of students meeting with their families and friends. Roman's family was nowhere to be found this time. He, Patton, Toby, Seth, and August approached a kind looking mother and father accompanied by two girls, one of whom looked as if she might be ready to start Hogwarts within the next year or two. The other girl looked a couple of years younger than that.  
  
Elsewhere on the platform, Elliott was greeted enthusiastically by their sister, who'd graduated Hogwarts the year before, and lukewarmly by the rest of their family. In turn, Elliott greeted their sister with gusto and merely nodded their hello to the rest of their family.  
  
Chelsea said her goodbyes, giving Era's hand one more squeeze. They shared a tender kiss as well as a discussion about how they would owl each other every day. She met up with her older brother, a Slytherin who'd just graduated. The two walked up to their mother, father, and younger siblings - twins if Virgil had to guess.  
  
Shane met up with his father, who pulled him into a large bear hug.   
  
Era and Astrit were the last, aside from Virgil and Logan, to leave to join their family. Their father and Astrit's mother waited for them, greeting them warmly as they approached.  
  
 _"Virgil!"_  Virgil heard his mother's voice call out. Virgil whirled around, noting his mother's approach. He turned to Logan with a grin.   
  
"You're always welcome at my place. It's a bit cramped there but we can squeeze in one more," Virgil teased. After Deceit's second arrest, Renilda moved back into her flat in Diagon Alley. It was indeed small, but it suited the two of them well, and could suit a guest for a few days if need be.  
  
 _"Likewise, Virgil..although as you know, my home is not particularly cramped. Again, my parents would love to meet you. Er, formally that is."_  
  
"We'll get something set up. Owl me when you get home," Virgil told him...partially so that they could hammer out any details about any potential visits to each others' homes over the summer, but  _mostly_  because he wanted to make certain that Logan made his way home safe and receiving an owl from Logan was the fastest way to ascertain that.  
  
 _"I will,"_  Logan gave Virgil's hand a squeeze. Virgil suspected that Logan understood the motivation behind Virgil's request by this gesture. The two leaned forward to share a quick kiss before parting.  
  
 _"I hope to see you shortly,"_  Logan smiled as he went to join his mother and father, and Virgil went to join his mother.  
  
 _"I hope you had a good end to the school year?"_  Renilda asked him as they headed to their Ministry-rented car.  
  
"I did. I think...I think I'm gonna miss this after next year," Virgil admitted.  
  
Renilda chuckled.  _"I did too at first too, but you'll get used to it. Besides, you still have a year to go - don't get all bent out of shape over it now!"_  
  
"You know me, and you know that's easier said than done," Virgil shook his head, but the corners of his mouth twitched upward.   
  
One year to go. A lot could happen in a year.  
  
\------------------------------------------  
  
In a lonely manor in another country, a man sat clutching a necklace in a gloved hand with a scowl on his face. He was half tempted to throw the necklace into the opposite wall, but thought better of it at the last moment. This necklace was precious cargo, the boy said so himself.  
  
 _"The boy failed, how disappointing. I suppose if you want something done correctly, you have to do it yourself. Shame, shame. Not all is lost, however."_  
  
He stood from his seat, a glint in his eyes.   
  
 _"And to think, he doesn't even realize how important he actually is..."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, thanks for sticking with me through the incredibly long story of Virgil's sixth year! As I mentioned in my response to one of the comments, I do have plans for Virgil's 7th year...and at the point that I am typing this, actually have the first chapter for the next story written! I plan to post it within the next day or two. I will actually be on a mini vacation across the state, BUT I already have two additional chapters between this series and what I like to call the 'Virgilclaw AU' (the AU of this story that I am currently a few chapters into where Virgil was sorted into Ravenclaw instead of Slytherin, you should check it out if you haven't already XD), so I should still be able to maintain my posting schedule. Once again, thank you for all of your support, and I hope to see you in the next installment soon enough!


End file.
